Hitsuzen
by MoonlightShadowMaiden
Summary: This world will be changed, I will make it so the future of this world, of this time, does not fall into the abyss of darkness. I will make it so that the people I have loved will never have to suffer the way we did. I will not let it turn out the way it had before. And if I must sacrifice my body and soul for this cause... then so be it. Time-travel. MultiSaku.
1. Prologue

**Hi, Moonlight here... well, after two years of hiatus, I'm back. With another fanfic and a genre that I haven't ventured into yet: time travel. I became inspired, of course, by all those time travel fanfics I've been reading. Although, I have tried not to get influenced by those stories, I apologize in advance if I had taken some ideas from other stories. If you have complaints, please PM me. **

**I sincerely would like to apologize for those of you who follow my other story "Kuroi Namida". I honestly don't know where that story is going and even after two years, I'm in a complete writer's block. If I do pick it up, I will most certainly have to rewrite it.**

**I'd like to think I've improved on my story writing, I certainly hope so, but only readers can tell, I guess. **

**NOTICE: This fanfic is slow-going plot wise, something that I didn't quite notice until I had finished the first few chapters.**** There will be many OC so please bear with me. ****I hope you will all be patient enough with me, and it's a bit conceited of my part, but I swear it's worth it.**

**Enjoy~**

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**Prologue**

Reality has never hurt so much.

The Shinobi world was falling apart.

The ten-tailed beast had been summoned and was destroying everything in its path with no exemption. Madara had greatly underestimated the beast and also greatly overestimated his own ability. He could not control it –who could?- and paid with his life. Thus it broke free and now sought out revenge to the despicable beings called humans who had locked it and its kin away for centuries and centuries, as if the powerful demons that they were, were their slaves when it should have, obviously, been the other way around.

A woman kneeled silently next to a body with a soul that was long gone. Her tears did not fall, but her head screamed and her heart seemed to slow down as if she wanted it to stop also and ascend to where she knew he would be waiting for her. She brushed her scarred hand across his now pale cheeks, the whisker marks once engraved onto them now gone. His once sun kissed skin now deathly white and his bright blue eyes hidden underneath lids that would never open again.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered to him.

An explosion was heard not far off to where she was but she seemed to ignore it completely. She looked up at the red sky; the flames engulfed the land, the corpses and produced a dark smoke that damaged their lungs. She felt a presence next to her, deftly pulling her away from the body. She resisted, her chakra almost severed her own heart, but another chakra quickly disabled the spike. And so, she just watched, while being forcefully dragged away, as her best friend's body disappeared beneath trees that caught on fire not a moment later.

She looked up into ringed eyes on an aged face to her left and to her right, one who had red and black eyes. The arms keeping her from falling, she noted, felt like paper and she could see some floating away with the passing wind, the same wind that helped spread the fire.

"You should be more careful… Sakura," the oldest of them noted as they stopped in a clearing, staring at the fire that was building up from where they came from. He turned his gaze to her and grimaced, "Pull yourself together."

She looked up at him with dull eyes, "Nagato… it's all over." She looked down to the ground, "The master has fallen to his own creation, a creation that no one has ever been able to control. The Kages…" a mental picture of Tsunade flashed in front of her eyes, "they have perished, the jinchuuriki are also dead… no one is able to control it. No one."

Her chin was lifted up by the other man in the clearing, he looked at her intensely, "I've never known you to say something is impossible." She looked up at him. He brushed his thumb across her cheek, "Don't you have a promise to fulfill?" the man asked then. His hand trailing down to the chain around her neck, it sported so many charms, rings, pendants and beads that you could no longer discern how many there were. His fingers stopped when he came to a glossy black ring, the top was white and it had the kanji for 'soul' on it. An Akatsuki ring.

The woman took it between her fingers. Of course she remembered. Remembered the promise to not die to a blond and a red-head, the promise to pay some debts to another, the promise to an immortal for a rematch, the promise to enjoy sake with a blue man, the promise to plant a garden to a cannibal, the promise to spend more time with a blue haired beauty… She looked up at the two men in front of her, the promise to not live foolishly and die with regrets… as they have.

The moment was broken when they heard a blood curdling screech. The white haired man smiled sadly at her, "It's time." He put a hand on her shoulder, "You still have much to live for Sakura. You still have people to live for. Don't forget that."

The long haired one nodded slightly in agreement before he grimaced and pushed the woman towards the north, "Keep going… and don't look back. We'll buy you some time."

Her eyes widened, "W-What…"

He gazed at her gently, "Go."

With that, she started running, looking back one last time, because she knew it really was the last, at the two before speeding up until they were seen no more. Continuing, she glanced at her wrist where a seal was, it told her that the seal she had placed was still intact, it gave her some reassurance.

"Sakura!" she stopped and turned at the call of her name. She sighed in relief as she ran forward and dropped heavily into arms of the genius Nara.

"N-Naruto… he… I…" she couldn't form any words as the Nara stroked her hair comfortingly.

"I know…" he squeezed her tightly, "I know." He looked up, "Come on, let's go, it's not safe to dwell here." He made a hand sign and they disappeared without a trace.

They found themselves in a humid cave-like room. He let go of her and tried to smile but it just came out as a straight line. Sakura nodded her thanks and looked around, her heart tightening in her chest.

On the ground, separated a foot from each other horizontally and two yards vertically were wooden crosses and slabs of stone. The brown-haired man squeezed her hand and told her that he would be right back. With him gone, she slowly walked through the makeshift graveyard. She went to the nearest grave and kneeled down. She traced her fingers gently across the names.

Her eyes darted to the surrounding ones, the Konoha Eleven, save for her and Shikamaru were all dead… the rest were shinobi from all the countries, great warriors and heroes.

The twenty-five year old bit her lip until it bled.

'_If only it hadn't turned out this way…'_

She thought ruefully. She still contemplated the choice to take her own life. Leave this world and reunite with her loved ones.

Before she could express any other regret, the room shook and the earth above her head tore away. She looked up almost emotionlessly as the beastly face of the ten-tailed beast appeared above her. There were cries and agonized last screams as with each breath it took, black fire consumed everything, melting earth, flesh and bone.

Black tendrils snaked out from its body and floated menacingly into the air. Everyone held their breath, no one moved, it resembled a hunter, silently waiting for his prey to twitch before going in for the kill…

And it did not hesitate to do so as some Shinobi, fearful of the beast and of their impeding doom, ran. Not a second later, found those Shinobi caught by the tendrils and held up into the air. The others on the ground just watched in horror as the beast roared and with that roar turned the captured into dust. The wind blew over and showered the Shinobi with the remainder of their comrades.

The dust was so fine and so bitter.

She felt the chakras of her comrades slowly diminish to nothing as she stood there, tetanized to the core. She registered too late as a black tendril shot its way towards her. In her state of shock, she barely felt the push of her friend as he tackled her to the ground.

Her eyes widened when she finally came to.

There, in her arms, was her last nakama.

"Shika…" she shook him a little, "Shika…"

"Trou… blesome… wo… man…" he chocked out.

Her heart beat faster, seeing the wound on his back that scorched his skin and slowly spread in front of her eyes like a disease.

She shook her head and tears started to form, "No… not you… please… don't leave me alone…" She clutched him to her as she said this.

"Sakura…" he whispered, "I hope… you know…" he gave a pained smile, "how much… I love you…"

"… Shikamaru…?"

No response.

It was then that she noticed that she was the only one left.

She could then only watch on with dull eyes as the tendrils made way towards her, ripping her away from the fallen man and held her up in front of the great beast. She felt it burn her skin, leaving ugly black stains on her pale skin.

Its abysmal eyes boring into her soul as even the demon felt her resolve and will dissolve into nothing.

"_Daughter of man… what is it like to know… that you are the only human left alive in this world?"_ its dark voice echoed through her ears.

Her empty jade eyes shifted towards him.

"No world is without sacrifices. This sea of blood covered in ashes... we refer to this hell as the world… a world in which I have no more reason to live."


	2. Chapter 1

**Here is the first chapter directly. Ages of the various characters will be reminded in the author's note in the following chapters because it gets a little confusing after a while.**

**I remind once again that this is a pretty slow-going plot, sometimes we skip years from chapter to chapter and other times, three chapters would only be encompassed in a few months or so.**

**Enjoy~**

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Chapter 1:

"_Haruno Sakura… do you know the meaning of Hitsuzen?"_

"_Hitsuzen?"_

"_Yes… inevitability. There are no coincidences in this world… there is but Hitsuzen. You would have already joined your kin in the other world… but you did not. You had a wish, a wish that you would like to have fulfilled… I can grant it._

_If you can pay for it that is. You cannot gain something without giving anything; the world must have a balance."_

"_What is the price I must pay?"_

"_The wish has to be equivalent to the payment. That is the law of equivalent exchange. Your wish is a heavy burden and it is only up to you if you choose to pay the price or not… your wish… to be able to change the past… can be fulfilled… you will be sent to a former time, the further it is, the higher the price." _

"_...in habitual times… you would have paid dearly with your memories to go back that far, but… the Kami are merciful on you and have decided to grant your wish and a gift."_

"_A gift?"_

"_Yes… you will gain… immortality. The Gods are quite displeased at what some of the human race has done… perhaps you can change that. In exchange though, during your new life… you will be given a lifelong assignment to pay for part of your wish… little by little. Be grateful that the Kami are letting you keep your memories and your current powers."_

"_May I… ask for something else?"_

"_After all that we have given to you, you still ask for more?"_

"_I have children. They're the only treasures I have left in this world… take back my immortality, anything… but please… let me keep my children."_

"_The Kami have decided that it is too cruel to separate a mother and her children. You have been accorded your wish. Now you must pay the price._

_You will no longer be able to conceive, are you willing to pay the price?_

_Those children… they are not yours by blood. You do understand that you will have no way to keep your blood heritage."_

"_Of course … but… they're my children. I raised them and cared for them. Even if not a drop of their blood is the same as mine… I will always love them and wouldn't trade them for the world."_

"_I now see why the Gods have chosen you… your wish has been granted… but from the moment you step into that world… you will forever cease to be Haruno Sakura. You, nor your children, will ever carry that name, for that is the price you and they will have to pay."_

"_I understand…"_

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

So it begins…

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A white-haired woman stood in a clearing in a dense forest. She looked around with her jade eyes; she nodded, deeming it fit. She looked back to her boys who were standing far away enough. "Careful of splinters! Ashido, put up a barrier!" she shouted from her place to her oldest son. She saw him nod and a few moments later, a red translucent dome appeared to shield them from any danger. A beautiful white wolf was sitting loyally next to her.

Sakura nodded once more, concentrating, the air around her began to swirl and gravity was defied as her chin length white hair rose as well as her loose kimono. The air continued to swirl and with a graceful turn and twist of her body, it shot forward like a blade, precisely and effectively cutting away a large part of the trees around.

Sakura sighed and only when the wind died down did she call her sons over, "Now, let's get to work, shall we?"

And so, they started building their soon-to-be home. Her gaze traveled to her oldest son (6), Ashido, he had unruly red hair that no matter how much we pressed down, it would still look messy, and dark amber eyes. The second oldest was Daisuke with black hair that reached his chin and dark blue eyes (5). The next two were the same age (4): Haruki, who has dirty blond hair and unique grey eyes, and Kaito who has light blue hair and sky blue eyes. The youngest (3), Akira has pure blond hair and sea foam green eyes.

All of them, since she had adopted them, have learned from her the secret of her clan… using the elements without any hand signs. It was a gift that was rarely given, by having them make a contract to her, the adoption papers and a special scroll; they were able to access it without having the Haruno blood and it greatly took a lot out of her.

But it was all worth it for their sake.

Each one also had an element they excelled more in. All of them could use the five elements but they had a dominant one. For Ashido, it was fire, for Daisuke it was thunder, for Haruki it was earth, for Kaito it was water and for Akira it was air.

She giggled as little Akira threw his hands up in the air, the wind suddenly pushed up, following the motion and the boys flew a few feet in the air, all shouting in surprise and laughter. They fell down in a heap after a few seconds of floating in the air though. Akira squealed, "Let's do that again!"

The others shouted, "No!" immediately.

Sakura shook her head, "Haruki-chan, Kaito-chan, why don't you go over there and make us a nice pool, the heat's about to kill me." She proposed. They both nodded enthusiastically.

"Hai, Kaa-chan!" They ran over to the edge of the clearing and Haruki started moving the earth to form a dome, little Akira stumbling behind, not wanting to be left alone with the 'serious nii-chans'. She then turned to her wolf, "Rakuen, please look over them." The white wolf nodded and went at leisurely pace towards the kids.

The white-haired woman sat down on a nearby boulder, one knee propped up to support her arm which supported her head. Her eyes darted down when her two oldest came to a stop in front of her. She smiled at them. They returned it.

"Kaa-chan…" Ashido started, the two looked unsettled, after all that's happened, she isn't that surprised. The younger ones did not fully comprehend the situation they were in but these two were old enough to at least know that it was going to change their lives forever. "I don't really understand this… equivalent exchange but… I think that Kaa-chan gave more than she had to. What about us? We're in this too… but we didn't lose anything."

Sakura looked at them sadly, sighing, she slid off the boulder to kneel in front of the two, she caressed their locks and tucked some stray strands behind their ear, "You _have_ lost something."

Their eyes widened and they started looking for things that could have disappeared. She shook her head, "No sweetie, it's not something physical." They stopped to look at her sad eyes, "In exchange for me being here, I have to complete the lifelong assignment they gave me and with it, my name." Her eyes darted around; she could faintly see silhouettes of a body nearby, one that could not hurt them.

"Is it the things you see but we can't?" Daisuke asked, "You keep on looking at a place for a long time… we can't see anything… but we know that there's something there."

Her children were intelligent for their age, like she was.

She nodded, "I will be fulfilling the part of that woman you saw in the white room." She leaned back onto the boulder, getting comfortable. The two also took a seat in front of her, "From now on until… I don't really know when, I will be someone who will help lost spirits and people… who come to me asking for something. I can grant their wish only if it is in my power and if they can pay the price."

"_From now on, you will have to live life on the principle of Equivalent Exchange, you cannot take more than what you have given nor get less. It must be balanced. That is our way of living."_

Ashido and Daisuke nodded but then another question came forth, "What about your hair?" they asked. She ran a hand to her now shoulder-length hair. It had been, before they came to this world, knee length and of course, the unique pink.

"I needed some information, and they gave it to me for this price."

"What kind of information?"

Sakura put a hand in the middle of her chest, "You remember my pocket watch, don't you? The one that when you open it, it shows memories?" they nodded, the image of an intricate, palm-sized pocket watch that was always dangling around their mother's neck came up. "Those are very rare since it allows you to store your memories and not many people know of their existence."

Realization hit the two boys, "So you exchanged your hair for the pendant…"

"Equivalent Exchange." They both said out loud.

"Hai… Equivalent Exchange."

"Then… what did we lose?"

Sakura sighed and continued to run her hand through their soft hair, "Remember… when you decided to come with me… to be a part of my family, each of you renounced your names. The names given to you by your real parents." They both nodded.

Daisuke then spoke up, a little frustrated, "Real parents? You're my only real parent, Kaa-chan… I was the one who asked you to give me a name… because… you're my real Kaa-chan…"

The mother was touched at this, "Yes… and I gave you names. Because names are important. Names give importance to something, an identity. Names mean that you acknowledge something, whether it is an object, an animal or a person… as soon as you give it a name, it becomes important. Now… tell me… do you remember your names? The ones your biological parents gave you?"

"Of course!" Daisuke exclaimed, "It's… it's…" he looked in his memory… "It's…" he stopped short, "I can't remember."

"We lost our names," Ashido concluded after trying to remember his original name as well.

"Yes… you… would have lost your memories of me as well… but I made another exchange so that doesn't happen."

"Kaa-chan! You've sacrificed enough!" Daisuke shouted at his mother.

"No, I haven't, since I gained something in return…" she looked down at her hands, "I have also lost my name. I am no longer Haruno Sakura… It also came at a much bigger price for your five. None of you will probably exist in this timeline because of this."

"It's not fair…"

"Yes, it is… maybe, someday, you'll fully understand everything, but right now, you should just live as children. You don't need to grow up too fast. After all… just like me, all of you are going to live for a very… very long time."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura made her way towards a cave. It was one out of more then a dozen caves on the wide mountain side, but it was where she was going to find what she was looking for. Entering the slightly damp orifice, she held her hand out and summoned a ball of fire, illuminating the small space she was in as she ventured deeper into the dry cave. The bats sleeping in the area awakened due to the light and started screeching but otherwise just flew above her.

It was like a maze, but she had the information and the knowledge and soon enough, she came to a dead end where there were markings on the wall. Tracing her hand along the carvings, she allowed her chakra to flow inside the rock and slowly break it. The wall crumbled before her and revealed, sitting attractively and readily on a pedestal, was a brass oval pendant the size of her palm.

Taking it carefully, her fingers traced the intricate engravings on it. The pendant of memories…

With that, she sat down onto the cold ground and held the pendant in her two hands. Pushing chakra into it, it shone green and floated in between her two hands as she began transferring her memories…

Memories that she would never forget… memories that she would never _let herself_ forget no matter how desperately she wanted to.

Because she can't… she wouldn't… and could _never_ forget the life she had lived and the world in which she had died.

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**I hope it sparks your interest a little bit.**

**I just would like to underline that Sakura's sons are main characters. That means that there will be chapters where I will only speak of them, from their perspective and about their lives. They are just as important as Sakura. It may seem more like original work, but I thought that it would be a waste to have OC so close to Sakura who do nothing but stand there all day. **

**Read and review please.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here is the second chapter. Thank you for those of you who reviewed and who are following :)**

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Chapter 2:

The five boys plopped down heavily onto the cool grass, sighing in tiredness and relief. Haruki moaned, "I miss Yamato-jii's wood release!" he whined. The other four wholly agreed with him. They turned to their mother who was moving the earth under the wooden structure that was the support of their house, making sure the ground would not give in. When she was finished, she gave a satisfactory nod.

She then turned to them, seeing them sprawled down on the grass; she gave them a sympathetic smile and chuckled along with Rakuen. Going over to them, she blew out slowly and they giggled as cool air came from her mouth. They sighed in relief.

Sakura looked up into the sky, seeing some less than happy clouds coming, "Come on, we'll at least have to finish the walls, a barrier can be put up for the roof until we can get to it. Now let's get to work before it starts raining." There were a few groans but soon enough, the boys stood up and went over to the pile of already cut planks of wood.

They worked until grey clouds loomed over them; thankfully, they had finished the foundation, the floors and the four walls of their soon-to-be traditional Japanese house, which was going to be big. With five kids, it had to be. The rain started pelting down onto them as they were temporarily putting up a makeshift door out of the rest of the wood of the day.

Sakura brushed her hair out of her face, "Go inside and put up a barrier over your heads," she turned to the forest in front of them, "I still have something to check, alright?" with that, she disappeared in a flicker. The kids looked confused but shrugged and started putting their powers together to make a barrier strong and big enough to cover the area until their mother came back, with Rakuen carefully watching over them of course.

The placement of their house was near the to-be Hokage Mountain, not towards where Konohagakure would be constructed but off to the back on the opposite side. It prevented anyone from sneaking up from behind them and with the mountain as support, they can effectively be protected by any natural disasters, all they had to do was use their earth element to bring the area of their house up the mountain and they would be safe from floods, or they could bury themselves inside the mountain, that was feasible as well. It wouldn't be secluded from the future village but would be far enough to maintain their privacy.

It was the perfect place.

The white-haired woman made sure that the protective seals around the area were working well. Not taking any chances, she summoned her messenger butterflies, sending them to guard each of the twelve seals up the mountain and around their semi-circle territory. Having finished with her inspection, she was about to return to her kids when a white willowy silhouette, the one who was watching them before appeared.

It was a young woman, not older than twenty two maybe. She had short dark blond hair and light brown eyes, wearing a tattered beige kimono, bandages were around her forehead and arms.

'_Please… help me…'_

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Ashido sat down and looked out the opening where their door was supposed to be, unfortunately, the wind had blown it away and they had to extend the barrier towards it. Their mother was taking longer than they thought. He looked up when Daisuke had put a blanket over his shoulders.

Rakuen took a seat next to him and he smiled reassuringly, "I'm sure Sakura-hime just has some business to tend to." Ashido nodded in agreement but stayed sitting in front of the door. He turned his head to where their three little brothers were sleeping soundly on blankets with more blankets on top of them, tired from the day's work. Though they could not do much more than move small planks of wood and hand their mother the right tools, they still did what they could.

He clutched at the blankets, "Where did Kaa-chan get the blankets? We didn't come with them, and she just appeared out of nowhere with them."

Daisuke shrugged and sat down, pulling the object of their discussion closer to his body, a bundle was next to him, ready to give it to their mother once she came back. "Rakuen-dono, do you know?" The male wolf grunted and shrugged.

"Why don't you ask her yourselves?" he said before disappearing in a quiet wisp of smoke.

As soon as he said that, Sakura's body flickered right in front of them, soaked to the bone. "Ara, the storm's really brewing!" she exclaimed. Daisuke didn't waste any time to hand his mother the blanket.

"Thanks honey," she took it gratefully.

Ashido inspected his mother before stopping at the stains on her kimono, most of it washed away by the rain but they were obvious. "You were fighting?" he frowned. Sakura stopped patting herself dry and looked at the hems of her kimono, blood stains were apparent on them.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Daisuke asked alarmed.

She smiled, "No, I'm not…" it was a secretive kind of smile. She then pulled something out of her kimono sleeve. It was a dagger. It was a beautifully carved dagger made of gold. The two blinked at it. They've never seen it before. They looked at their mother's expression which was a little sullen and pitiful as she gazed at it.

Ashido and Daisuke made the connection and concluded that their mother's assignment had begun… and that this was an exchange. For what, they wouldn't ask, but the blood and her sullen face was enough to tell them that it wasn't something that they should know of… yet.

"My, with all this, I've almost forgotten our food." She looked at the sleeping trio, "They're already asleep… it's around seven. Well, since there are no such things as markets yet, we're going to have to do this the traditional way." She made her way towards the door, "I caught a boar and I got some rice nearby." The two kids followed her outside where a dead boar lay. "It wouldn't be too good to keep it inside…" she murmured to herself.

She pushed her foot against the wet ground and a ripple-like quake shook the earth. Soon enough, it resembled a wave which brought some leftover wood to her feet. Quickly drying it by sucking out all the water, she hurriedly made a box, putting her hand over it, there was visible ice that formed thanks to the humidity of the air. Satisfied, she expertly cut the portion of the meat they were going to eat using her chakra scalpel then put the rest inside the box, sealing it. She then made a twisting motion with her hand towards the ground. The ground followed and twisted up, at the top were two perfectly made clay cauldron-like pots for cooking.

All this was done in less than five minutes. The two boys looked on in awe at their mother. They had known that she was an Anbu elite and had experienced first hand her powers, but it never ceased to amaze them.

She smiled, putting the meat in the pot which she broke away from the earth, "Could someone get the other one please? And some wood for the fire." Ashido stepped out of the house and broke the other pot away, while Daisuke carried the remaining wood inside with their mother right behind them.

Soon enough, a fire was started, carefully monitored so it wouldn't spread ashes, and the food was starting to cook nicely. Sakura waited by the fire as she pulled up the long sleeve of her ruined kimono, frowning at its state. She would fix it later. Turning to the food, she took the pot off the fire and placed it gently on a wooden plank. She then served it onto makeshift plates also made of wood.

"I miss the ceramic plates and glass cups all of a sudden," she mumbled to herself before turning to the two boys who were busy crafting out usable chopsticks with their mostly limited knowledge.

She got up from her spot and went over to the slumbering trio. She gently shook them awake. Little Akira was the first to yawn and open his eyes, "I'm hungwy… dinner… weady?" he called out, smelling the food.

Sakura giggled, "Yes, dinner's ready, go on over there and you can start eating alright?" he nodded, getting up from the sheets and stumbling cutely towards the 'table' where Ashido and Daisuke were waiting for him. Turning to the other two, shaking them again, this time it was Haruki who woke up and had a goofy smile on his face, Kaito following suit.

They ate dinner like the family they were, with Ashido and Sakura eating peacefully, watching the others; Akira was whining and pouting until Daisuke admitted defeat, pulling the little one on his lap and hand feeding him and of course Haruki and Kaito in a competition to see who could eat the most, usually resulting in both having stomachaches.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura laid out half the blankets they owned onto the floor, the little ones sleepily stumbled over to it and plopped down, sighing in content. The two blonds, Haruki and Akira were already pretty much asleep; Kaito was trying to put a space in between the two so he could wiggle in. Daisuke didn't care much and just claimed the space next to Akira while Ashido yawned and waited until his mother had draped the rest of the blankets over his brothers before slipping in himself, followed by his mother.

"Kaa-chan…" he whispered, turning to his mother.

"Hm?" Her eyes were closed but she was giving him her full attention.

"Will we ever meet them again?" he asked.

"..." she stayed silent for a while, pondering on the question, "We will, we'll meet everyone again…"

"We're… going to make them happy, right?"

"Happy?" she asked.

He nodded in the dark, "Because… they were all hurt… weren't they…? I want them… to be happy."

By now, she could feel her other boys awake, listening to the conversation, "Me, too, darling. We'll do everything we can… to make sure they're happy. Everything."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The days seemed to pass by quickly for the family and soon enough, they had finished the overall exterior of their home. As expected, it was a traditional Japanese house with elevated floors, tatami mats and shoji screens. The boys were now debating who was going to have the rooms next to their beloved mother's.

"I'm the youngest…" Akira pouted, "So I should be the closest to Kaa-chan!"

"What kind of an argument is that you cry baby?" Haruki exclaimed but immediately regretted it when Akira started tearing up. It wasn't so much the act of crying that made him cringe but the sound of him crying. The little one had control over air and it so happens that at a high pressure, it made a very unpleasantly shrill noise akin to a whistle.

The four boys covered their ears as the waterworks and the whistle-like noise started up. Kaito glared at his brother, "Now look at what you've done!" Haruki just looked away.

Sakura appeared right then and took her youngest into her arms, shushing him, "No need to cry Akira-chan, what have I told you about amplifying your voice?" she chastised while stroking his bright blond hair. She put him down and smiled, "How about this, we put the rooms in a star pattern and my room will be the one in the middle if ever any of you need me, how about that?"

They all seemed to think about it and nodded in approval after a minute. Sakura nodded, "Alright, let's put up the walls now, shall we?"

It took them two days to finally finish the rooms, but it was worth it. It counted eight relatively small bedrooms in all: two extras guest rooms and the six for the family. A living room and kitchen were also constructed, the living room being the largest piece. Since indoor plumbing didn't exist yet, with a little power, Sakura was able to find a hot spring behind the house and reserved an area for the toilet off to the side which was renewed everyday.

"Ah! It's so pretty!" Akira cooed as he held the shiny brooch in his still small hands which he got from the bag their mother carried. It was in the shape of a flower and a precious stone was in the middle of the metal brooch, two pearls dangling from the back. Sakura agreed and put him down, taking back the brooch.

"Why don't you guys find a suitable place for a garden? We need vegetables and rice, we can't keep taking it from a random rice field." They nodded. Ashido and Daisuke stayed behind a bit and watched as their mother looked at the empty lot next to their house. It was somewhat the size of a shed and they could only see it when their mother was going to put something away in it. They had thought it was a genjutsu but either it was too high level of a genjutsu or not a genjutsu at all since they couldn't dispel it.

Sakura stepped into the small room, only a table and candles were in the middle of the room but on the three walls, there were shelves from top to bottom, right to left side. The left shelves were a quarter full already… it had only been one month since they had come here and yet, she seemed to get 'clients' every other day. She put the brooch carefully on top of the shelf next to a pair of metal bracelets. Trailing her eyes along the shelves, she willed herself not to shudder as she came across one of her more recent ones. A charcoal black ring. She had only seen it, the exact same one, in history books. A ring which belonged to a seductress, used to kill her prey. She had asked for revenge. That revenge stayed engraved inside the ring she used to pay for her services.

Looking away, she exited the shed, making sure the seals were in place. No one would be able to see it unless she wanted them to or if they met the criteria that allowed them to see it. Her sealing powers were otherworldly, but still not on par with the late Uzumaki Naruto, which led many to question just how far _his_ abilities went. Not one person could ever break their seals in the present thanks to Naruto helping her perfect it... and hopefully it will stay that way.

"Kaa-chan!" the voice of her kids shouted, she looked up in alarm at their panicked tone. Akira came running towards her first. "K-Kai-nii! He-he just fell down!" the blond exclaimed with tears in his eyes. Sakura immediately picked him up, teleporting them to where Daisuke had Kaito's head in his lap and Ashido was leaning over him while Haruki was in a near panic attack.

The medic in the woman sprung up, making sure to choke back her motherly instincts to smother her baby. Ashido moved over to make room for his mother and watched as she checked his vitals carefully and professionally.

"What happened?" she asked, the pulse was normal but the boy was panting and his face was red. Maybe a fever.

"We were running around and playing when he suddenly fainted," Daisuke supplied.

Sakura nodded, sending calming chakra into his body to relax him, already diagnosing it, "Okay," she picked her blue-haired son up in her arms and headed inside. "It's not safe to stay out too long at high noon, come inside and cool down."

Arriving in her newly furnished room, she set him down onto the futon gently. With that, she asked Ashido to go and fetch some water. Akira and Daisuke sat on the opposite side of their mother, looking at their ill brother. She looked up where Haruki was still with wide eyes and she went over to him, kneeling in front of him, she took the sides of his head in her hands, "Calm down honey, everything's alright, just relax… your brother is going to be fine." she gently sent some calming chakra into his head and gave him a kiss on his forehead once he had calmed down.

"What happened to Kai-nii, Kaa-chan?" Akira asked, rubbing his eyes.

She smiled up reassuringly at him, "It's just a little fever, nothing too worrisome." She ran her hand through the sweaty blue locks and thanked Ashido once he came back with a bowl of water and a rag. "I was afraid of this. I was expecting it sooner though." She murmured to herself.

"Expecting what?" Ashido questioned, taking a seat and pulling Akira into his lap, one hand squeezing Haruki's shoulder in support.

The pink-haired woman dipped the rag inside the water, wrung it and placed it on the child's forehead, "Kaito has always been fragile… his affinity with water had helped him get through some of his physical weakness as water has healing properties. I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to support the extreme change we went through." She smiled faintly, "He did well, and thankfully it's only a fever, it's the least that could've happened to him."

Daisuke was going to ask more questions when suddenly a red and black butterfly came floating into the room. Sakura frowned at the sight and held out her index finger to it. It landed softly on the offered perch, relaying its message to its mistress. If possible, her frown deepened. She quickly stood up and turned to her kids who had confused faces.

"Stay here and don't open or go out of this room. We have some unexpected guests." She went towards the shoji doors, the one connected to one of the five other rooms which were all connected to hers and of course, a seal was placed. The seal hid any chakras inside the rooms, alerted them to anyone who entered their territory and protected all who were inside it that it recognized. She gave one last look behind her, "Take care of your brother, I won't be long."

With that, she disappeared silently with the butterfly.

* * *

**The real story starts in chapter 4, chapters 2 and 3 were for familiarizing with the new life of the family. Please stay tuned.**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

She stood behind a tree, masking her chakra completely as she gazed at the four people, obviously ninjas, who had unknowingly alerted her by crossing the barrier. There was a woman and three men, all were sporting various injuries but one of the men looked the worse off since he was unconscious, leaning on the female who seemed to be the least injured. Her medic instinct went off but she had to make sure they weren't a threat.

"Damn it," one of the men cursed, clutching at his abdomen, "We're still a day away from home," he looked back at the unconscious man.

"He won't be able to make it for that long!" the woman shouted, sounding angry but not at anyone in particular.

The second man sighed and looked around, "Maybe we could find a place to stay and some basic help," but to them, there was nothing but forest around.

"Will it even matter?" the woman shut her eyes, "Only Senju-sama would be able to heal him." She was on the verge of crying, they could tell.

"Aya…"

"He can't die!" she shouted, "He just can't!" The other two men stayed silent.

Sakura watched this exchange, the medic in her shouting at her to help them, the mother in her still had her doubts and the shinobi in her told her that they knew the Senju so they could be trusted, and anyways, her children were safe, even if they were threatening, they were injured and she was skilled.

Making sure they could hear her approach, they looked up in alarm. They were taken aback when a woman, no older than her mid-twenties came from the forest. She had on a long black kimono with a white obi and white butterflies lined with red as the design. It opened in what they would call 'indecent' as it showed off most of her legs and the fact that she was barefoot. It went well with her short, slightly wavy white hair, making them question her age. But one thing stood out among the black and white, and that was the emerald green of her eyes.

"I'm sorry but I could not help overhearing. My home is not far from here and I would gladly give you some of my help." She spoke out in her melodic voice with nothing but kindness.

The woman's eyes shone and was about to accept when the other two came up, shielding her from Sakura with doubtful and untrusting eyes, "Do we have any reason to trust you? How do we know you aren't going to kill us once we follow you?"

Sakura expected this and took it in stride, "No, you have no reason to trust me but what reason would I have to kill you?" she held her hands out in a gesture of peace, looking at the unconscious man, "Whether you trust me or not isn't the question, but the fact is: I can help you and that man direly needs it."

With that, she turned and led them towards her house. The two men followed silently but were still looking around warily until her home was in view. "I've never seen you or this house anywhere before, we have not heard anyone living here," one of them remarked.

Sakura turned her head a bit, "Yes, I just moved here a while ago," She will let them believe that she was alone, the strong genjutsu used on her house made it so that it seemed smaller with fewer rooms so they wouldn't have the suspicion that there was someone else other than her living in there.

"I see…"

They entered the house, "This way, put him down onto the futon, I'll get my equipment." She instructed. They nodded and proceeded to take care of their fatally wounded teammate.

Sakura came back quickly, going towards where they were already ripping off the clothes around the wounded areas, which mainly were the chest and abdomen. She quickly looked over him, assessing the exterior damage. Narrowing her eyes, she looked up at the three who were obviously worried and told them that she was adept at healing and if they would let her heal him.

This time, there were no objections.

Not wasting another second, she tied the sleeves of her kimono back, her body working on auto medic mode, her hands resting above the chest wound, her hands glowed green and thus the healing began. It had been a while since she had healed deep wounds like this one but her body and mind never forgot, so for sixty minutes, under the watchful and amazed eyes of the patient's teammates… she brought him back to life.

After the healing, she went and washed her bloody hands from the well they had built. She pretended not to notice as the chakra of, who she assumed, was the leader. It was only when he had cleared his throat did she stop what she doing and turned to him. He looked a little sheepish with his hand scratching his short brown hair and his dark eyes looking at anywhere but her.

"I'm sorry for all the fuss we made when we met, but, in this profession, trust is something given only to certain people," it was his way of apologizing.

Sakura smiled gracefully, "It's alright, I understand."

They went back to the room and Sakura healed the rest of them. The woman was last and she shooed her two teammates out since her injury was to her leg and shoulder. She first took off her top and blushed in embarrassment. It was cute, Sakura thought; she couldn't be older than twenty.

"T-Thank you… for saving him… I'm really grateful… my teammates are too!" she quickly added, blushing for another reason than her embarrassment.

"You're quite welcome… isn't it normal for a girlfriend to be worried when her boyfriend is hurt?" Sakura asked innocently and was rewarded with the sputtering of the female she was healing.

"I-I-I, we're not… he's not my…" she groaned and hid her bright red face in her hands. The white-haired woman giggled at that.

"He's lucky to have a woman like you worry over him," Sakura stated and smiled kindly at the younger woman. The said person smiled embarrassingly.

Afterwards, they chatted a bit, Sakura learned their names: Aya was the girl, the leader was Yagato, the other was Kino and the patient was Tarou. She introduced herself as Sakura.

"Sakura-san, where did you learn such healing skills?" Aya asked, still amazed by the display, "I've only seen Hashirama Senju-sama heal that proficiently."

"Ah, so you work under the ever so famous Senju clan?" Sakura asked, gauging her words carefully. She knew that even before he became Hokage, he was famed to be the compassionate and just leader of the powerful Senju Clan, someone who everyone should know about, he was after all, the God of Shinobi. Not knowing about him would rouse suspicion, especially if you were in the métier where you use chakra as a weapon, whether it was for fighting or healing.

They hesitated but nodded nonetheless, there was a comfortable silence before the growling of stomachs could be heard. The three blushed in embarrassment while Sakura just laughed it off, "My, my, what kind of a host am I?" she turned to Aya, "There's a kitchen and ingredients in the kitchen if you'd like to cook."

Normally, it was impolite to offer the use of the kitchen instead of making the food but it was a subtle way of letting them know that she is aware that they do not trust her quite yet and they may suspect poison in the food she would make. Aya nodded gratefully and asked her teammates what they wanted. They shrugged and replied that they were so hungry anything would do.

Sakura then showed her to the kitchen and the ingredients and politely left, saying that she needed a full wash to get clean. With that, she left Aya in the kitchen and made sure that the two were still conversing in the guest room before silently making a clone so perfect that no one could tell the difference, even the chakra level was the same. Her clone took her place as she teleported herself to her room.

"Kaa-chan!"

She found her boys waiting patiently in the room. Akira was asleep on Ashido's lap, Haruki was starting to nod off, and Daisuke was rewetting the rag, Kaito was still sleeping. She smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I said it was only going to take a while," she made some hand signs and in front of them appeared five steaming hot bowls of stew. She handed each of them a bowl and they started eating.

"Kaito woke up a little but I think he was still half asleep since he was mumbling things but then fell right back to sleep again." Daisuke told her. Sakura nodded at the information and brushed away some hair out of Kaito's face.

"He should be up and running by tomorrow after tonight's rest."

Ashido looked up from his bowl, "Who are they?"

Of course, her kids would already be adept in sensing chakra, "They're shinobi, just came from a mission and were badly hurt, I helped them."

"What village are they from?" Haruki asked but then slapped his forehead, "Ah, the villages aren't here yet, what am I talking about?" he asked himself, the others laughed at that.

"They're a part of the Senju Clan."

"Tsunade-baa-chan's clan?"

Sakura smiled fondly at the name and replied softly, "Hai… Tsunade-baa-chan's clan."

Sakura waited until they were done before getting rid of the bowls and spoons, leaving a bowl to the side to give to Kaito if he wakes up, "If everything's okay, I'll be going back to our guests. You should sleep now anyways." She summoned one of her butterflies, "If you ever need me, just send this over and Rakuen or I will be here immediately."

They nodded and bid goodnight to their mother.

The third day of the shinobi's stay, Tarou woke up and everyone was relieved. Aya scolded him for being so reckless and told him to say thanks to the one who saved his life.

Tarou blinked at the sight of the beautiful woman next to his bed, "Ah, thank you for saving me. I really appreciate it."

Sakura gave a smile, "It is the duty of a medic to heal so there is no need to thank me."

Yagato shook his head, "No, duty or not, you still saved us. What can we do to thank you? We have no money on us or anything like that."

"It's quite alright, I have no need for money," Sakura replied, she felt a stab at her arm and heard the words "equivalent exchange" echo through her mind.

"But we must give you something," Aya spoke out, "You gave us a shelter, healed us and even gave us food."

Sakura was about to say that they could pay her later when Kino made a sound. They looked over at him as he reached into his hip pouch and took out a bag made of fabric, he held it out to Sakura, "If you don't accept money then have this," He opened it to reveal some thin, black, thread-like plant. "It's kizami, the best quality in the shinobi lands right now. I don't know if you smoke but I'm sure you can get something out of it, it's a pretty expensive kind."

Sakura just looked at it and at the four who were offering it, "But it must be for someone else, right?" She was hesitating because she didn't actually know if the price was right. She saved a man's life and she feels good about it, isn't that payment enough? Or does equivalent exchange only count for material objects?

Kino shrugged, "I'm sure the person won't mind once I tell him it was in exchange of saving someone's life." He set it down on the ground near her, "Please accept it, or else we would feel guilty for taking and not giving a single thing in return."

With a renounced sigh, Sakura nodded and took the bag with grace, "Thank you."

"Now," Aya spoke up, turning to Sakura, "Would you mind helping me with lunch, Sakura-sama?" she asked. The said woman looked up at the offer then to the other three men who simply smiled at her.

"I would love to."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The four left in the evening, bowing respectfully to Sakura before going their own way. When their chakras were far enough, Sakura looked at the pouch of fine kizami and then to the bladed weapon in her other hand, a Sai, the payment for the healing.

Ashido and Daisuke felt the chakras of their guests slowly getting further away from their home and took it as a sign that they could finally come out of the room they had been confined in for the past three days. Opening the door, they blinked when a blond head zipped through it before they could even step foot outside. They laughed it off and followed, with Haruki and the healed Kaito not far behind.

They found their mother on the front of their house, smoking. She was sitting relaxed with one knee bent, the other dangling from the edge. Her left hand was supporting her weight behind her, next to the Sai, and her right one held a kiseru gracefully between her fingers, smoke slowly coming out from her mouth. She looked up at her children and smiled.

Akira immediately went and hugged her around the waist, the others sitting around. She looked back at Kaito who smiled at her, reassuring her that he was alright. She noticed Daisuke staring at her kiseru. Smiling, she held it out to him. He took it without a word and examined the long thin pipe.

The mouthpiece and head were of silver, a bird was engraved into it, coiling around the piece. The body was made of brown, polished wood. He took a whiff of the smoke coming out of the small bowl and blinked, it didn't smell half bad.

It soon made the way around to the five children, each inspecting it before taking a whiff, most recoiled at the strong smell unlike Daisuke. Little Akira got it last and ended up with red watery eyes when he took a small drag of it, heedless of his mother's warning. Everyone laughed at his face and a game of tag started with Akira being it, frustrated that he was embarrassed in front of everyone.

Sakura just watched this with fond eyes, continuing her smoking. She had, in the past, hated smoking, the medic in her repelled anything that could hurt the human body. She had always scolded Shikamaru for it but let it go when he supplied that the smell just reminded him of Asuma and he just couldn't stop, and added that it relaxed him. I guess it was just irony now that she would smoke to remember him and the days when they would play shougi, trying to erase the scene of his death in her arms from her memory.

_Fifteen-year old Sakura cried out in exasperation as she lost yet another game of shougi against the Nara genius. The said boy just smirked at her frustration and took a long drag from his cigarette before blowing the smoke in her face._

"_Agh! That's disgusting Shika! Stop it!" the pink-haired girl whined, fanning the smoke in her face with her hands. _

"_Don't knock it till you try it," he said and offered it to her. She looked at it skeptically then to him. He rolled his eyes, "Just try it. You can always heal your lungs after anyways."_

_She hesitantly took it between her index and thumb. Inspecting it with a frown, she put it to her mouth and inhaled. _

"_Agh!" she began coughing and gagging, her eyes watering and turning red. Shikamaru just laughed outwardly at her. She glared at him "Shut up!" she handed it back to him with a grimace and frowned some more when he just continued enjoying it even more, if the satisfied smirk that appeared on his face was anything to go by._

"_How about this, if you win, I'll stop smoking, if you don't, you have to give me something." He proposed, restarting the game. Sakura looked at him doubtfully and against her better judgment, mostly because her pride wasn't willing to take another hit, she accepted._

_Needless to say, she lost._

_She huffed and puffed while Shikamaru just smirked at her, beckoning her over to tell her what she was going to give him, hoping it wasn't another pack of cigarettes. She stopped short when soft lips landed on hers. He pulled back, a content expression on his face as Sakura gingerly touched her lips._

"_Idiot!" she yelled while flipping the shougi board towards the boy who just smirked._

She felt a tear escape her but quickly brushed it away. She was taken out of her reverie when there was a tug at her sleeve. She looked to her side where Kaito was kneeling down, facing her.

"I… I want to learn how to heal!" he exclaimed, his eyes full of determination.

Sakura blinked and he continued, "I know that I'm a genius like Ashi-nii, I'm not strong like Haru-nii, or smart like Dai-nii… and I don't have a lot of energy like Akira… they always get hurt and I think… the only thing I can do for them is heal them." He looked up, "That way, you don't have to worry about me either! Because I'll know how to take care of myself and heal myself when I'm hurt or sick! So… please teach me!"

The mother put a hand on his head and he looked up at her with blue eyes shining with hope, "Of course I'll teach you Kai-chan, of course." He beamed at her and tackled her with a hug, saying 'thank you' over and over again.

She looked at the others; I guess it was time to start their training.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

She put her hand out, and with a swoosh of her hand, the waterfall she was facing froze, beads of water tumbling down like pearls. She quickly gathered the beads up then threw them up into the air, infusing her chakra with them.

'_Oh, guardian of the Haruno Clan, I beseech you to appear before me.' _The beads glowed and formed words in the air.

'You are no Haruno'

Sakura frowned, _'I may no longer carry that name… but every drop of blood in my body is a testament of the Haruno legacy within me.'_

She neither moved nor flinched when a bead shot out like an arrow and cut her cheek, drawing blood into its empty area. It flew back towards the other beads and waited. Soon though, the beads started moving once more.

'What you say is true. Thus, you are entitled to our protection.'

"But what of my children?"

'They are not of Haruno blood'

"I mean no disrespect but they are my family, and if you won't protect them, I will just have to ask another more gracious Guardian!" she shouted at the beads, frustrated, before adding, "You are the Guardian of family, you should know the importance of this to me."

It stayed silent for a great deal and then a great wolf appeared before her, its grey mane billowing softly. Its aged silver eyes regarded the woman before him, boring into her soul.

"The Haruno Clan has always been a favorite of mine, which is why I will answer your plea and accord you our protection. But remember, I will only make this exception for those five children." He said and Sakura nodded, thinking that since they were the only children she'll ever have, it wouldn't matter much.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The five boys were preparing lunch when they felt their mother's chakra appear in the living room. They immediately left what they were doing when her chakra spiked up, telling them to come over. They did and were confused as their mother had cleared away the table; she was kneeling down, preparing her kiseru with tobacco, a large straw basket sat in front of her much too innocently.

They seemingly ignored the basket in front of them and proceeded to sit down from oldest to youngest in front of their mother, knowing it was time for business but were still cautious about the basket. Their suspicions were proven when the basket moved. They looked up at their mother in question and she just gestured to the basket.

They approached the basket with caution and suspicion and Akira gasped then squealed, not wasting any time as he plunged his hands in and took out a wolf cub. Soon enough, each had picked one out. Akira was already smothering it with hugs while Haruki was holding his up with two hands in front of him curiously. Kaito was petting it gently while it napped on his lap like Daisuke and Ashido were.

"Listen well," Sakura started, picking up her kiseru and taking a long drag before blowing the smoke out and watched each of her children, "Those wolves… you will look after them for some time until they're grown… and then they are the ones who'll be looking after you. They are going to be your partners, your friends, a part of this family. So take care of them." She smiled at them, "Alright?"

They nodded.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Your stance is too open Ashido, bring your arms closer to your body. Daisuke, put more speed and not power into your hits. Kaito, water doesn't have a form, you have to shape it into something for it to become useful. Akira, air is smooth, your hits are too choppy. Haruki…" she stopped at the four year-old boy who was just sitting Indian style on the ground, arms crossed and a frown on his face.

She raised a fine eyebrow and walked over to him, "Haruki? What's wrong?" she asked.

His frown deepened, "I don't like earth! Why does it have to be my element?" he pouted. He swooshed his hand along the ground, making some of the dirt fly up into the air before plopping down onto his head in the form of mud. His eye twitched.

Sakura sighed and brushed away his mud-caked bangs from his face, "Then what would you like to have?" she asked him, "You have the highest affinity with earth but that doesn't mean you have to rely on it all the time."

The blond huffed and turned to watch his brothers. Ashido was perfectly fusing his kicks and punches with fire that didn't burn him the slightest, Daisuke was hitting (almost) bull's-eye every time he fired a thunder wave, Kaito was able to turn the water to ice and even Akira was able to cut a tree down by screaming his lungs out. All he could do up until now was move dirt and dump it on someone. Real effective on a non-moving target. Nothing more.

"Everyone is made for something Haruki-chan," she told him, "Look at Kaito, just a few days ago he came up to me and told me he wanted to become a medic."

Haruki looked up at the information, "Kai did? ...I'll think about it. Thanks Kaa-chan." He gave her a hug.

"No problem darling, and when you've made your decision, come to me and we'll figure out what training plan you'll have to go through," she ruffled his dirty blond hair. Both of them turned their heads when there was a cry of frustration from another one of her boys.

Sakura stood, going over to her dark-haired son who looked at the dartboard with hate as if it had done him something offensive. "My, my Dai-kun, what's got your feathers ruffled?" she asked, going over to inspect his progress. She made a humming noise as she saw that he was always two or three centimeters away from the bull's-eye. "Go over there and show me how you do it alright? Maybe it's got something to do with your stance."

He nodded, still a little miffed. He got into position and Sakura noted that it was perfect so it couldn't be that. Then he took a breath, his hands preparing the static as his eyes were fixed at the red dot in the middle of his target. He squinted a bit and a bit more still until his eyes were practically closed, then he fired, a ray of thunder going out of his hands crackling through the air.

Sakura did not even look at the result since she was already going over to him. He looked at her confusedly and just stared wide-eyed as she took his chubby cheeks in her hand and looked straight into his eyes.

"Dai-kun..." she said slowly.

"Hai?"

"Did you ever have problems seeing things?" she asked, probing his eyes with her chakra.

Daisuke stood still as she did this and thought about it, sure things got a bit blurry sometimes but not every time! He shrugged. The white-haired woman moved back, "Hm… let's see then," she turned and told him to throw a few kunais.

Sakura looked at the results and added it to the information she got from her chakra. She told him that she'll be right back. Going out back, she teleported herself to a place with fine sand, taking a handful, she crushed it in her hand while emitting hot flames. Soon enough, she had two perfect oval glass pieces in the palm of her hand. Appearing back to their territory, she found some metal and expertly designed it. She returned soon after to her boys and told Daisuke to close his eyes. He did, then opened them in surprise when he felt something on his nose.

He looked down to find a pair of glasses. He took them off his face and examined them, then looking up at his mother, "Do I _have_ to wear glasses?" he asked gloomily, "Can't you fix it?"

Sakura smiled, "Not everything has to be fixed with chakra darling, you're still growing so it will probably straighten itself out after a few years. If I fix it, it might deteriorate your eyesight in the future instead of making it better. Anyways, you look dashing in them, right boys?" the boys who stopped their training to look at their glasses clad brother just looked at him funny, not daring to say anything. Daisuke turned red then turned to his mother who looked at him pleadingly.

Crap. He couldn't say no to his mother.

He looked at the pair of shiny glasses and it came to him that she probably made it herself. She made for him. He smiled and put it on, "Thank you, Kaa-chan." It made him feel special, something that only he had and not one his brothers that was made by their mother.

That night, they all sat around the low Japanese table, Sakura at the head, Ashido and Daisuke to her right and Akira, Kaito and Haruki to her left. Akira, as usual, was chatting away, making air signs in the air to show off to their mother. He looked at the seal that was placed on the roof of the dining room and remade it in the air. He smiled at his accomplishment but then recoiled when it shone a bright blue and plopped down onto his rice bowl.

Everyone was silent as they gazed at the seal implanted on the rice. Kaito experimentally poked it and quickly took his finger back when it burned him, "The seal works!" he exclaimed, healing his burn.

Sakura examined the seal, surprised that Akira had been able to not only reproduce it, but use it as well. Though it couldn't compare to hers naturally, it was still more than three-year olds should be able to do. She congratulated Akira, "Ara, maybe we have a sealing genius among us," she said, kissing his cheek. At that Akira cheered triumphantly then went to finish his dinner when he saw that he couldn't. Their mother laughed good-naturedly as she deactivated it with one touch and watched as he gobbled it all up happily.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Goodnight," she whispered as Daisuke carefully folded his glasses next to his futon.

"G'night, Kaa-chan."

She checked Haruki and Kaito's room where they were already asleep and to Akira's where he was still smiling happily in his dreams, their wolf cubs sleeping right next to them. They would soon have the ability to summon them, just like she could with Rakuen though. She then made her way outside where Ashido was still practicing with handling water and trying to merge it with some air. With the two elements, the water stayed in a single shape, held together by the air. She looked down onto the steps where his wolf cub was eagerly watching him. She smiled, the bonding had already begun. Patting its head a bit, she turned to her son.

"Very clever," she noted as he turned.

He blinked and looked at the sky, "It's that late already? No wonder it's so quiet now…" he remarked.

Sakura nodded, "And you should be going to bed as well, it's not good for a growing boy to stay up so late."

Ashido nodded and went inside the house with her, "Kaa-chan…"

"Hm?"

"Could you… teach me all the elements? I want to master all of them… like you."

She gave him a side glance, "I can but it's going to be a long and hard path for you."

"I know. But I want to be able to protect my family. Just like you did… and Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, Gaara… like how… the Akatsuki protected you."

The white-haired woman closed her eyes at the mention of her precious people, "That's right… although I got the feeling that you didn't quite like the Akatsuki."

Ashido frowned, "I don't. They were S-class criminals… especially that Hidan, I didn't like him at all… but they protected Kaa-chan and us with everything they had on the day that the ten-tails attacked… so I guess I could give them a chance… the next time." It sounded like promise to Sakura and she almost sighed at how intelligent her boys really were.

"Then I hope that they won't waste that chance. I want to help them in this time. They could've turned out differently and I'm thinking of changing that…" Sakura then laughed bitterly, "But at the same time, I'm afraid that if I change something, they won't be the same… that they won't become the people I once knew…" she confided in her six year old.

Ashido beckoned her down to his level, "I think that everything will be okay… as long as Kaa-chan keeps on smiling." With that, he kissed her cheek, bid her goodnight and entered his room, leaving Sakura kneeling on the ground, a little shocked before putting a hand to her mouth.

_Eighteen year old Sakura slid down the wall of Konoha hospital which had been reinstated as a refuge. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, biting her lip to keep from screaming out loud. It wasn't fair._

_Tsunade-sama had died. Leaving her all alone._

_It just wasn't fair._

_She bowed her head down, her long pink hair shrouding her face from view. She looked up as a hand touched her shoulder. _

_Naruto. _

_He didn't say anything but engulf her in a warm hug. She held onto his shirt, gripping it as if it were her lifeline. She started blubbering about how she should've been faster then maybe she could've saved the Godaime. Maybe if she were a little stronger, she could've helped fight off the enemy._

_Naruto tightened his hold on her, "Even if you had been all that, Sakura-chan, I think that nothing at that point could have saved her… she had…" he swallowed thickly, "She knew that she wasn't going to make it… she knew what had to be done. And she also knew that you had to be strong enough to go on without her now."_

_He kissed her temple and rubbed her back soothingly. Sakura looked up into his tired blue eyes; he was so tired of it all as well. She tried to smile but it just came out as a frown in the end. He laughed hollowly and ran the pads of his calloused thumb across the sides of her mouth._

"_Frowning doesn't suit you, Sakura-chan, how many times have I said that before, believe it?" he then ran his thumb across her lips, "I would rather have diarrhea a million times than to see you cry, Sakura-chan…" She couldn't help but laugh at that, "There… that's the Sakura-chan I know and love."_

_She looked up at the statement and looked at him, really looked at her best friend. It showed that he had matured and the pain and tiredness in his eyes reflected that. The blond slowly leaned down and lightly brushed his lips against hers, lingering there as he whispered._

"_Everything will be okay… as long as Sakura-chan keeps on smiling."_

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

After making sure that the protective seals were working on each of the room and the house, Sakura made her way outside. Sitting down in front of the door, she picked up her kiseru and started to smoke.

"Ah, what I wouldn't give for some sake," she whined.

Rakuen appeared next to her in his human form, a man no older than herself with white hair and silver eyes. He turned to her and grinned, "What I wouldn't give for those cubs to grow up quickly so I can order them around!" he joked.

Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to him, "You've always been whining with my grandmother if only I had younger siblings so you could bully their guardians and she could have more grandkids," she reminisced. Her grandmother was the one who gave Rakuen to her, telling her the same things she had told her sons.

"They're gonna be okay, Sakura-hime," he said, she shifted her eyes to him.

"I've been hearing that a lot lately."

"It's because you have this constant expression of worry. In your place, I would be panicking as well but… what can you really do in this kind of situation?" he looked up to the sky and contemplated the stars, "The future can be changed now… maybe it's already been changed. Isn't that what you wished for?" he asked his mistress.

The white-haired woman nodded, "Yes… I'm just wondering if I'll be able to make the right decisions to change it for the better."

Rakuen made a humming sound, "Who knows? I'm not going to sugarcoat it, because like you, I like to be a realist. This may change it for the better or for the worst, depending on what you're going to change." He glanced at her, "You can't rely on your memories of the people you knew anymore. I know that you're going to be someone in Madara's life, whether it will be an enemy or an ally, is up to you… but he won't be the bloodthirsty man you met on the battlefield, hell, he might be whole different man! So… all I'm saying is… live life. You can plan it, but, for the sake of those kids and what they're gonna have to endure, just live."

"Thank you, Rakuen… now I know why you became my guardian."

"Yeah… wait… you had doubts?!"


	5. Chapter 4

**Thank you for those who reviewed :)**

**Here's chapter 4, she's finally going to meet canon people! Yay! **

**About the romance. I just mostly pair Sakura up with someone relevant to the storyline. Don't wanna spoil anything but true to my tastes, it's SakuxMany.**

**Enjoy~ **

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Chapter 4:

**Two months later…**

Sakura stared at the letter which arrived in her home a while ago, not a single expression was on her face. She looked up at the nervous delivery boy. He shifted nervously as he could feel the power emitting from the woman in front of him, he gulped when she handed the letter back to him. He took it with slightly trembling hands and waited for her answer.

"Wait outside, I'll be out in a few minutes then we can go," she told him. He squeaked, nodded, bowed then scurried off to wait for her outside.

After his departure, Sakura let a contemplative frown appear on her face, "It starts this soon eh?"

"With all the talk circulating about you, honestly I'm surprised they didn't ask for you sooner," Rakuen replied from his wolf form next to her. "After all, people have been coming here more frequently since word is out that there's a talented medic in the woods. Anyways, isn't this what you've been waiting for, Sakura-hime?" he asked her, "The chance to finally be in contact with people influential to the future."

The woman nodded, "Indeed," she sighed. She made her way towards the back where her children, like usual, were quiet until the guest left. They were always hidden from anyone who came here, be it guests or otherwise. Sakura couldn't take the chance, she just couldn't. "Come here a moment!" she called to them.

"I'm going to be absent for a while," she informed them.

"Where are you going?" Daisuke asked, pushing up his glasses.

"To the Senjus. Apparently, they've heard word of me and would like for me to heal someone over there since the patient can't be moved." The boys nodded in acquiescence. She turned to the grown wolves behind them, "Please take care of them." They nodded, "Rakuen will be here if you need help on your training or if you need to relay a message and my butterflies are always wandering around."

The wolf beside her nodded dutifully as she spoke then backtracked, "Wait, I'm not going?" he turned to his mistress who just gave him a look; he frowned but nodded in agreement nonetheless.

A few minutes later, the boys were saying goodbye to their mother, who threatened that they were going to get it if they slacked off when she returned. Sakura looked back one more time towards her protected home before following the page boy to their destination.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Along the way, she studied the page boy who strayed a few feet from her, glancing nervously every few seconds.

"I won't bite," she finally said and he visibly jumped, "What's your name?"

"Kintarou, miss!" he yelped.

She sighed, "You don't have to be so nervous, I'm not going to hurt you… that would be against my purpose."

He just nodded shakily. She shook her head and reached into her travel bag which was just a sling bag made from animal skin. Soon enough, she dug out a bag of chocolate, made from the cocoa they grew themselves in their flourishing vegetable garden. She offered it to him. He looked at it with wide eyes.

"It's good, I promise," and popped one into her mouth, savoring the taste. He inclined his head and took a piece, experimentally giving it a lick before biting off a little piece. Sakura just watched his expression change from curious, to surprised to very happy as he shoved the rest of the chocolate in his mouth.

"T-Thank you." He stuttered and gazed at her with gratitude as she offered him some more.

One and a half days later, due to Kintarou's slow but now relaxed pace, they found themselves in front of welcoming gates. Two men were standing guard in front of the wooden fence, still as rocks. Sakura strayed behind a bit as Kintarou conversed with the guards who gave her interested glances. She completely ignored them.

"Ah! Sakura-sama? Is that you?" the said woman turned to where her name was called. She tilted her head as she scoured through her memory for the face.

"Aya-san?"

"Yes!" the woman exclaimed and bowed respectfully, "I'm happy to see you again! I heard that you were invited here, oh, wait!" she turned and called out, "Tarou! Tarou! Come here!"

"Coming!" a man called out and appeared behind the forest, he blinked in surprise at her the sight of her, "Sakura-sama, what a pleasant surprise!"

Aya smiled, "Isn't it?" Tarou put an arm around her shoulders once he got to them and Sakura didn't fail to notice the atmosphere.

"My, it seems like you two hit it off well, nothing like a near-death experience to get a relationship going nee?" she joked and laughed when the couple blushed.

Kintarou went over to her and grinned at her, "They're ready to see you, Sakura-sama, please come in."

Sakura nodded and followed the teen inside a place which she only heard about in books until now. She looked around and smiled, it was beautiful and you could practically feel the warmth in the air. She remembered reading that the Senju Clan, though powerful, were very peaceful and rarely had turmoil in the family. It was just like the books, the polished and proper wood that made up the vast buildings, the carefree people within safe walls.

Sakura's eyes then trailed to the people approaching her. The ones she knew immediately were Hashirama and Tobirama, who were still very young, at age of eighteen and fifteen respectively. They were walking behind an older man and Sakura concluded that Hashirama wasn't quite the head of the clan yet.

She respectfully folded her hands together in front of her and she bowed as he approached. He, like his sons, held a warm aura around him. He smiled welcomingly at her.

"Welcome to the Senju estate, we've been waiting for you Sakura-sensei," he amiably.

"It's an honor to be here," she replied, giving him a gracious eye smile.

"I am Senju Gin, the current head of the clan," he turned a bit to his sons, "But not for long, I suppose. This way please, you've probably had a tiring journey."

Sakura nodded, "If I may, Senju-sama, may I see the patient first?"

"Ah, of course, a medic cares for their patients first and foremost, right Hashirama?" he turned to his eldest son who nodded, his eyes still fixated on the woman.

They changed their course and went towards the barracks. They came in front of a door and lightly knocked. "Hirou, I'm coming in with someone special." Gin exclaimed as he slid the shougi doors open.

Sakura entered after the head, looking at her patient. He was probably in his late forties, he sat up in his bed, trying to welcome his guests.

"No old friend, stay as you are, I've brought a medic," the head said, he looked up to the woman next to his bedside and gave her a kind smile which she returned.

The man, Hirou, turned to Sakura, surprised, "You didn't have to, Hashirama-dono's healing greatly helped my state."

Sakura then turned to the said man with an inquisitive gaze, "I've heard about your prodigal healings Senju-sama, I'm actually quite surprised myself that you called upon me." She, of course, only said that out of politeness. She knew that 'healing' was only an excuse to invite and meet her on their territory, showing that they still were wary of her.

She bowed to the wife and took her place, she smiled reassuringly at Hirou, "Please relax, it'll go much more comfortably that way." The other guests took a seat a ways away to give them room, his wife serving them some tea, watching the medic.

The medic could almost feel their gazes on her forehead but took it no heed; they were probably curious about her talent. Hovering her hands over the patient, she scanned him with her green chakra. She hummed to herself before retracting her chakra, letting it fade.

"My, that's quite a nasty disease you have there, it's been destroying your immune system quite effectively," she said.

He nodded weakly, "No matter how many times we try to renew the white blood cells, they keep on dying."

She nodded, "Well then, let's try this," she moved her hands back to his chest area, "This may feel very uncomfortable but feel free to tell me if it becomes too much, alright?" she smiled kindly at him. He nodded.

Sakura brushed her hair back with a swish before pushing chakra into his system. After forty minutes, she was sure that she had renewed his white blood cells, with that, she finished it off with a quick seal that was almost too quick to be seen.

"There, that should do it," she said while reaching behind her towards her bag. Hirou blinked in amazement.

"That's it?" he asked, almost not believing it.

She nodded, "I renewed your white blood cells, just as Senju-sama has done and placed a seal on you. It won't harm you in any way; in fact, I doubt you will even feel it. It will just ensure that they continue on renewing until your body will get the sign and start doing it on its own, after which the seal will disappear. It should take maybe three to five months but you'll be in good shape afterwards, given Senju-sama continues the treatment every week for the next month just to be sure." She glanced a bit at the said Senju who looked at her with something akin to respect and his brother in awe.

She gestured towards the wife who immediately came, "You'll give him a tea infused with this," she gave the woman a pack of herbs, "It should help with the fatigue and boost up his immune system while his body works on it."

The wife was close to tears as she took it gratefully, bowing down to Sakura. "Ara, no need to bow down so low, I assure you."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

She had stayed there for two days already and had met the infamous Mito Uzumaki, who was three years older than her fiancée, and needless to say, they got along very well. The head Senjus just watched their exchange with amazement. They all sat around the table for lunch with Gin at the head, Tobirama was to his left with Gin's wife next to him, on the right side sat Hashirama next to his Uzumaki fiancée. She smiled fondly at the surname and tried not let the sadness and nostalgia show as she sat at the end of the table.

"Thank you so much, Sakura-sensei, I'm sure Mira-san is elated to know that her husband will be in good health soon," Gin spoke in the middle of lunch. "I also want to thank you personally for helping my family members a few months ago. I believe they gave you some kizami to thank you. I hope you enjoyed it."

"Ah, yes, it was really of the finest quality," she replied.

Hashirama took this chance to speak, "Tell me, sensei, you said you used a seal, but, there was no paper or anything that you used."

Sakura put down her chopsticks, "I rarely use it, honestly, even for me it's a very difficult process only used for chronic diseases. Depending on the seal, it can be used to stop the degrading or the propagation of cells. I used it as a limiter, you can say, so that there's at least a certain amount of white blood cells in the body." She smiled, "Maybe I could teach it to you in the near future, Hashirama-sama. I'm sure that it wouldn't take that long with your skill."

"I would like that, thank you Sakura-sensei," he replied gratefully, smiling at his soon-to-be wife as well. "I'm sure Mito is also very curious, after all, seals are her clan's specialty."

Mito gave a small giggle, "Yes, I'd like to be able to learn from you as well, Sakura-sensei," she winked at Sakura.

It was probably irony… that she would teach Naruto's ancestor the things he himself taught her so long ago… it was almost frightening for her yet at the same time joyful that she could help feeling the pain, happiness and nostalgia that overcame her as they continued on talking about the Clan.

"Ano… Sakura-sensei? Have I said something I should not have?" Mito put a hand on Sakura's clenched one. She came back to the present and quickly brushed away a stray tear.

"Ara, I'm sorry," she apologized, then turned her gaze to her rice bowl, "I just… you just remind me of an Uzumaki I once knew…" she said softly, her eyes cloudy with the memories.

Mito blinked, "Ah! You met an Uzumaki, Sakura-sensei," her tone was teasing, "My, my, and it seemed to have been quite an encounter as well…"

Sakura blinked a few times before understanding the insinuation and blushed, "Ah! No, it wasn't like that at all!"

"But you're blushing!" Mito continued teasing, she then glanced quickly at her soon-to-be brother-in-law who she noticed never took his eyes off of the beautiful medic.

"He…" she started sadly, "He's already gone."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

On the third day, Sakura had to bid them goodbye, thanking them for their hospitality. Hirou came to bid her farewell as well.

"Thank you so much, Sakura-sama, I'll forever be grateful," he told her. His wife coming up to hand her a box.

"Yes, thank you so much. Here's some dango, I do hope that you'll like them, Sakura-sama," she bowed. Sakura once again told them it was nothing. After saying her goodbyes, Mito had tugged her towards her path.

"I'll accompany her for a while longer!" she shouted behind her, the men left behind just sweat-dropped. The red-haired woman five years her junior looked up, "Nee, Sakura-sensei, what do you think of Tobirama?"

"What do I think of him?"

"Hai, is he to your taste?" she unashamedly questioned.

Sakura let out a laugh, "It's not that he is not to my taste, Mito-san, it's just…" she closed her eyes, "I'm not looking for a relationship right now." Her eyes saddened, "And I don't know if I'll ever be."

Mito let her go and watched in stunned silence as the white-haired woman disappeared behind the foliage. She felt Hashirama appear next to her and put her hand over his which was on her shoulder.

"Isn't it sad and lonely, Hashirama?" she asked, "Still loving someone… who isn't of this world anymore?"

The man just held onto her tightly as she wept for Sakura.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura was on her way towards her home when she heard loud cursing. Turning her head, she saw three men; one was sitting on the ground, trying to stop the blood flow from his injured leg. One was trying to help the injured man and another was scouting the area, his head turning in all directions until he stopped at the sight of her. He visibly tensed and called out to his teammates who also looked up.

She stood her ground as the one who was scouting came closer, blade in hand, "Who are you?"

"Just a passerby, I assure you," she took the time to note his dark attire, a large black shirt and grey pants… but the things that stood out the most were his black eyes that bled red…

The Sharingan stared right at her.

She tilted her head to the injured, "I'm a medic, if you'd like, I'll heal him." As an Uchiha, she was certain that he wouldn't take it, after all, male egos were hard to ignore. The Uchiha was about to tell her off when a softer but more commanding voice came up.

"Stand down! You're a medic, you say?" he asked. Sakura turned her gaze to the one who addressed her; he was the only one who didn't have his sharingan activated. She nodded. He seemed to think about it for a minute.

"Please help him, we'll pay you later," he said.

She silently made her way to them, kneeling down next to the patient who was clutching at his leg. She pried his hands away and grimaced at the damage.

"How long has this been here?" she asked, it was already purple and swollen, puss coming out of the still open wound.

"A few days," the soft-spoken one replied for his suffering comrade.

Sakura huffed in annoyance, "Well, I can't say if I can save this leg anymore." There was a thing she really hated, people who left their injuries until it was so bad that in the end they had to amputate a limb or get rid of a muscle. She then looked at the one who was suffering and her face softened. He was probably just out of his teens and still had a long way as a Shinobi.

The woman almost cursed her kind heart as she started healing the leg. She wasn't oblivious to the curious stares the young 'leader' was giving her though. It took a full hour to take care of most of the damage. She sighed when it was done, bandaging it with clean cloth.

"Thank you," the young man, who was named Taka, said, placing a hand over his leg.

She huffed, "You'd better be grateful, a few more hours and the medics would've had to amputate it," she exclaimed, getting up and stretching her stiff legs. Taka and the leader blushed and looked away as the kimono slid up her legs until mid-thigh.

"My name is Izuna, thank you for saving my cousin here, I'm sure he's very grateful…" he inclined his head a little to her, he was probably sixteen.

She nodded, her brain working 100km/h as she had recognized the name as Madara Uchiha's little brother, the one who he would be taking the eyes of and would eventually lead him to his death.

"Sakura."

"Well then, Sakura-san, I would like to extend my gratitude and invite you to stay at my home." He said gallantly.

"Ah, but I must be going, I'm afraid," Sakura replied, regarding the younger man curiously.

"But I must insist, what kind of a gentleman would I be if I let a beautiful woman like you travel on her own at night."

Sakura was about to decline again but then asked herself, 'Was it really a coincidence that she met Madara's younger brother?'

'_There is no such thing as coincidence… there is only Hitsuzen.'_

With that thought, she accepted.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

They arrived a few hours later at the Uchiha estate. Unlike the Senjus, it was cold and somber, no emotion in the least. She could feel the repressed emotions hanging in the air, almost suffocating her senses. He turned to her as they entered the desolate place after he immediately dismissed the other two. Sakura recognized the power he had then and accepted the hand he held out towards her.

He smiled and pulled her along, the moon lighting their way on the cobblestone steps. Despite his young age, he almost came to eye level with her. Then again, she was quite short. He led her towards a path through a garden, "When I first saw you, I had thought you were a spirit, Sakura-san. After you had healed my cousin there, I wasn't so sure that you were human at all," he confided in her as they stopped a moment, her hand clutched in his.

Sakura looked into his eyes; they were expressive, unlike others of his clan. She remembered the same look that another Uchiha had given her once upon a time, before his demise. She looked away from those eyes, opting instead to look at the two red bleeding eyes staring out at her from behind Izuna. Ones she horrifyingly recognized.

Izuna had noticed her stray eyes and turned, "Brother…" he whispered.

The said man came out of the shadows, and this one, she knew by name. All she wanted to do was pierce his heart with a blade but then remembered Rakuen's wise words. She calmed herself and watched as Izuna greeted his brother before turning to her.

"Nii-sama, this is Sakura-san, she saved Taka's life today. Since night had fallen, I invited her to stay here," he told the older Uchiha who kept his gaze on the white-haired woman.

Dinner was offered to her after that, Madara had already dined but was sitting at the table, asking his brother how the mission went. Sakura just ate slowly, not looking up. She had gathered that Madara, unlike Hashirama, was already the head of the Uchiha Clan. He seemed to take special care of his brother as well. She had heard the rumors of Madara being an exemplary brother; his 'love' for his sibling could have matched Itachi's own devotion to Sasuke.

"Sakura-san, was it?" The said woman looked up, staring straight into his eyes, "A medic… there is a rumor around that since a year ago, there was a medic up north, near the mountains, who helps anyone who came by. Is that you?" he asked, leaning on his elbow towards her.

"I do live by the mountains so I think I am who you are inquiring," she responded evenly and ignored his eyes roaming up and down her body quite obviously.

"Indeed, they tell me that you live alone, without husband," he said almost too nonchalantly, a smirk appearing on his handsome features, at this Izuna looked up at his brother in alarm. He pursed his lips in discontent as he noticed the lustful looks he gave the medic.

"Yes," she confirmed.

If it were possible, the smirk grew.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

They offered her a chamber and bid her goodnight. Izuna inclined his head towards her as she nodded back and slid the doors closed. She frowned and quickly turned around, not in the least surprised at the man standing in the room.

"Uchiha-sama, I do believe you must have business elsewhere." He approached her slowly and backed her up into the wall. Being at the height of puberty, he was head to head to her and stared into her eyes. Her frown deepened at this and she growled at him when he caught her wrists in his hand. His face leaned down towards her, "Feisty aren't we?" he whispered, one of his hands trailing down to brush her cheek, then her neck, teasingly going over the curve of her breast before parting the kimono slightly.

Growling once more, she leaned up to his ear, "And you have messed with the wrong woman," her voice was no longer polite and sweet, it was cold and commanding. "Now unhand me this instant."

He chuckled, "I am Madara Uchiha, and you are nothing but a lowly woman who I have deemed just a bit better than whores."

At this, Sakura unleashed some of her chakra, pushing him back. She quickly pulled his collar and teleported them away where they couldn't be seen. She pushed him away after arriving in the dense forest, "I simply despise arrogant men like you," she growled. Pulling back her fist, she aimed and connected it to his cheek.

He flew back and hit the rocky wall, he roared and retaliated, "Do you not know who I am?" he tried to kick her but she quickly dodged and they were off for a taijutsu fight.

"Oh, I know you alright, you're a stuck up heir who does nothing but use women. I know the like, Uchiha-sama," she responded sassily. They had both gotten a few hits by now, but Sakura was just playing. He wasn't at the level she had fought him in the past, yet. She could easily overpower him. With that thought in mind, she reversed the roles of just a few minutes ago and pinned him with chakra cuffs to the dirt wall. She approached him, her white hair blown by the wind, the top of her kimono open to reveal white bindings and the bruises he gave her and her glowing emerald eyes burning a hole through his soul.

Madara had never seen a woman as beautiful as her at that moment.

She held his neck in her hand and squeezed, getting as close as she could, "I'm a very independent woman who won't stand for shit like you and could very well kill you. Remember that."

She whispered as she teasingly brushed her lips against his before disappearing into the night, leaving the Uchiha heir bound to the wall, completely and utterly... lovestruck.

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**For this story, I'm currently already in the 20+ chapters. I only update when I've finished a new chapter so the interval is really up to my imagination's pace.**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Two years later…

"Rakuen!" a melodic voice shouted out, her steps silent as she called out for her Guardian. She turned, "Chairo, have you seen Rakuen?" she asked Haruki's wolf who was now adult age. The brown wolf thought for a moment.

"I think he said something about catching some fish by the river," he replied, his voice still a bit boyish.

Sakura thanked him and went outside. She saw her children still at it at training. She couldn't help but smile proudly at them. Ashido had already mastered the basics of each element and each one was half-way finished, Haruki had found his element though in the earth that he said he didn't like, turns out that he was the strongest in it, even beating Ashido in control. Kaito, true to his word, followed a medic's training; he was now able to take care of minor injuries more frequently and on some cases, helped his mother with their unconscious patients. Akira, as she predicted as well, had asked her for some training in seals since he had his pride and ego boosted up because of it.

She hummed in thoughtfulness as she saw that one of her boys was missing… Daisuke. She searched his chakra signal and saw that he was with Rakuen by the river and headed towards them. Honestly, she was worried about him, his progress in his element had stopped a year ago and he seemed to not give it much thought as he submerged himself in finding out about the artifacts in her storage room. He almost never went out of the house anymore either, opting to read the books she purchased over the years from some travelling salesmen.

Looking around, she saw a small boy hiding behind a tree trunk. She stopped, urged by her mission, she approached the small boy. "You need something?" she asked in a motherly voice. The boys hid some more behind the tree but then slowly came out.

"I… I can't find… my sister," he said, he was no older than two or three years old, looking around with his big eyes.

"I see… where were you when you last saw her?" the boys pointed towards the river. Sakura nodded and held out a hand to him, smiling gently.

"Why don't we go find her, okay?" he nodded and put his little hand in hers as they made their way towards the river, she drew a symbol in the air, making sure that the malicious aura behind them, from a spirit, didn't cause any trouble. Over the years, she noticed that she had other supernatural powers that didn't come from her chakra. It was a mystery to her at first and it didn't feel right but she soon got used to it.

Sakura found Rakuen there, in his human form, talking to Daisuke who rubbed at his eyes. The mother stopped in her tracks as she listened to her son.

"I can't do anything," the seven year old said, throwing a pebble into the water. "I'm sure Kaa-chan has noticed that I've not been progressing much."

"Yes, she has and she's starting to worry about you, you know," Rakuen responded. He shifted a bit as he felt his mistress' presence and helped her out by having her hear the things that her son didn't want to tell her.

"I know… but… unlike my brothers, I don't think I was meant to be fighting. I don't like it… but I want to make Kaa-chan proud and help her. But what can I do?"

"Daisuke…" she whispered. The said boy looked up, alarmed to see his mother.

"Kaa-chan! W-What, how long have you been there?" he exclaimed, he turned to Rakuen who looked a bit guilty.

Sakura approached her son and hugged him, "Daisuke-chan… no matter what you do, I'll always be proud of you. You're already helping me, by being here, making my life happier each day." She tightened her hold on him, "I love you and your brothers and I don't care if you decide to stop fighting because this lifestyle is hard, extremely hard and most times you want to just give up. If you've ever had the thought that if you didn't fight, I wouldn't be proud of you, get that out of your head, alright?"

Daisuke buried his face in his mother's shoulder, "Yeah…" She pushed him a bit from her and wiped his tears with her thumbs, under his glasses. He smiled at his mother. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before looking at her side and blinking. "Nee, Kaa-chan, who's that kid?" he asked.

Sakura blinked and looked at side where the little boy was looking at them curiously. She looked back at her son and to the little boy. Daisuke looked at him with curious eyes much like the little one. There was a sudden cry that was heard. Daisuke looked up towards the river and his eyes widened when he saw a little girl, about six years old, was drowning in the river. Without a thought, he went and jumped in to save her.

Rakuen stood up quickly and was about to jump in when Sakura held him back, "It's alright, let him go." He looked at his mistress, stunned. Soon enough though, Daisuke broke through the surface with the girl in his arms. Sakura helped him out and they made their way back home.

Daisuke looked at the now conscious girl with a frown, what had she been doing there? He asked himself and went outside as he let his mother take over. He went outside and found the little boy watching his brothers from afar.

"Hey! You!" his brothers looked up and he shook his head, "Not you! The little boy!" he then pointed to the said person. His brothers followed his finger then Haruki snickered.

"Those glasses aren't quite cutting it Dai-nii, you should get new ones!" he exclaimed. Kaito went over to Daisuke and put a hand to his temple.

"Maybe your eyesight's gotten worse, Dai-nii, you should tell Kaa-chan," he said, genuinely worrying for his older brother, unlike Haruki.

Daisuke pushed his hand away, "I'm not seeing things!" he exclaimed and pointed again, "Look! He's right there! A little boy!" The brothers once again followed the path of the finger then shook their heads, silently saying that they did not see what he was apparently seeing.

He was about to shout out in frustration, which was unusual since he was usually the calm and composed one. A warm hand stopped him from blowing a gasket though. He looked up into the reassuring eyes of his mother.

"T-They're real, they're there, right Kaa-chan?" he asked weakly. Sakura nodded and lifted her head up. He did so as well and gasped as the girl materialized in front of the little boy. The little boy grinned happily and hugged his lost sister. The two turned to Daisuke and Sakura, smiling gratefully and waving as they disappeared into nothingness.

"K-Kaa-chan… what happened to them?" he asked weakly, losing the strength in his legs as he kneeled down on the ground.

"That little boy was looking for his lost sister…" she explained then gave him a sad look, "His sister had fallen into the river and he tried to save her, but couldn't find her in the end…" she paused a few seconds, "That was eight years ago and they had both drowned."

Daisuke couldn't help the tears that fell from his face, and he suddenly felt something in his hands. Looking down, it was a small metal charm in the shape of dove, painted white; it hung on a piece of cloth. He looked up at his mother in question.

"Congratulations… you've just done your first exchange, Dai-kun."

His eyes widened at her words and he looked at the small charm in his hands. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do now… it wasn't just a coincidence that he was the only one out of the five of them to have this power.

After all… there are no coincidences, there is just Hitsuzen.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Sakura-hime, how come Daisuke was able to see them all of a sudden?" Rakuen asked that night.

"I don't particularly know, Rakuen. Maybe they have a plan for him… maybe it's Dai's own will that enabled him to get the power. I honestly don't know," she responded then smiled gently, "But he looked so happy today. I guess, each of them will have something unique of their own. Ashido will be the strength and protector of the five, mastering all five elements and more, Daisuke will become a 'shop keeper' and maybe one day take over the Shop, Kaito will become a medic, Haruki's powers will grow with my help, he'll probably become a Shinobi and Akira will become a sealing master…"

"Nee, Akira, he's really like..." Rakuen looked to his mistress who was smoking.

Sakura blew out, "Hai, Akira's becoming just like Naruto," she finished.

Rakuen chuckled, "Akira had always loved Naruto… I remember the day when he called Naruto..."

_Sakura sighed and tied her hair back, "Akira-kun, stop running around and come take your bath!" she shouted exasperatedly at the two year old. He hid behind the wall, only in his diaper and shook his head._

"_I down't wike!" he shouted back to his mother. Sakura ran a hand through her hair, thinking of ways she could persuade him to get into the water._

"_Kaa-chan will buy you candy and take you out for ice cream," she offered._

_Little Akira seemed to think about that, "Chocolate ice cream?"_

"_Hai, chocolate ice cream," she promised, "Now come on."_

_The little blond seemed to think about it a moment before dashing towards the front door, "Naw!"_

_The pink-haired woman almost screamed in frustration when there was a knock at the door and the person let himself in. Akira stopped in his tracks as his idol came through the door._

"_Nawuto-chan!" he yelled and held his arms out to the twenty four year old._

"_Ah, Akira-kun!" he obliged and took the two year old in his arms, bouncing him up and down, eliciting laughs from him. He looked up at Sakura who was a little bedraggled because of the commotion and approached her, kissing her forehead, "Sakura-chan. Is Akira-kun causing you trouble again?" he asked. Then he turned to the boy, "Are you causing your Kaa-chan trouble again?"_

_Akira shook his head, "I no want to take a bath!" he exclaimed, pouting. _

_Naruto and Sakura chuckled, "Ah, but baths are good for you! You get to smell nice and water is fun to play with! Then after, you, me and your Kaa-chan will go get some ramen!"_

_Akira thought about it, then nodded vigorously, "Okay! I'll take a bath and then, me, Tou-chan and Kaa-chan can go eat ramen!"_

_Naruto and Sakura stopped short and looked at the little kid questioningly, "Tou-chan and Kaa-chan?" the blond asked._

_The little one nodded and laughed, "Naru-tou-chan and Saku-kaa-chan!"_

Sakura nodded and gave a sad smile, "Each one them had someone they took as their father. For Ashido it was Neji, Daisuke seemed to take a liking to Shikamaru, Haruki's role model was Kiba, Kami knows why, Kaito though he didn't really take a liking to any of the guys."

The wolf scoffed, "That's because he was the most overprotective out of the five back then. He wanted nothing but your attention and disliked Naruto quite a bit at the beginning. Actually… all of them disliked Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru quite a bit, except for Akira. That kid'll like anyone who gives him candy… that's kind of alarming." He looked at his mistress, "Even though they're not yours by blood, they do share some of your stronger attributes, like say, your stubbornness…"

He received a good hit on the head for that.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

One year later…

It was a stormy summer day and Sakura was waiting patiently at her doorstep, looking out into the brewing rain and winds. She smiled when shadows began appearing on the horizon. A few minutes later found three wet Senjus at her doorstep, coincidentally (or not) two Uchihas coming close a second later.

She opened up her doorway for them, "Please come in, the storm is about ready to really start."

Mito nodded and entered first, taking a side-glance at the Uchiha brothers having a stare down with her husband and brother-in-law.

"Sakura-chan, so nice to see you, again, it's been a few months, hasn't it?" she said, looking around, "My, what a wonderful house you've got here, it's my first time coming here," she turned to her husband and motioned him over to greet Sakura.

"Sakura-sensei, sorry for the trouble we're causing, the storm hit us by surprise," he dared glance at his rival, "seems like we aren't the only ones either, or did you invite them?" he whispered.

The white-haired woman shook her head, "No, not at all," her vague answer came, whether to the first or second statement, he did not know for sure.

"So we just happened to end up at your house at the same time?" Tobirama asked almost incredulously, nodding and smiling in greeting at her before glaring at the other two.

Sakura's eyes met with the Uchiha's for a moment and gave a mysterious smile to the Senjus, "I don't believe in coincidences personally, I only believe in… the inevitable."

The Senju made their way inside while the Uchiha strayed in front of her doorstep a while. Izuna was the first to come up, take her hand and kiss it, "Sakura-san, it's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked amiably.

The woman nodded in agreement, "It has," she turned to Madara, "Not since you called me to check up on your eyes last Spring, I do believe, Uchiha-sama."

With that, she invited them into her home. In the living room, the Senju were already sitting down around the table. Leaving the head of the table for the host, as is custom, The Senju took up the right side of the table, Mito near the head to be able to talk to Sakura, followed by her husband and his brother. The Uchiha took up the left side with Izuna near the head and Madara next to him, straight across Hashirama.

There was a tense silence, for they knew it was the first, the very first time they ever sat at the same table, the same room or the same house without a fight erupting soon after. Mito sighed in relief when Sakura came back in with clean towels to hand to everyone. Each said their 'thank you's accordingly.

The white-haired woman then left for a minute more to get the tea. Like a proper host, she served each one of them and finally sat at her designated place.

"What a beautiful house you have here, Sakura-chan, it's so big too, aren't you lonely in such a big house, all by yourself?" the red-haired woman asked. Sakura had taken down the genjutsu protecting the rest of the house since she knew that they would immediately see through it so she hadn't bothered. It was also finally time to give her big secret, a secret she's been keeping from this world for five years.

"Yes, it's big, but it's not lonesome at all," she said mysteriously, taking a sip of her tea.

Mito blinked, "Huh?" she then looked around, "You're living with somebody?" she asked.

"This is the first time I've ever heard of this," Izuna added, looking at the medic in question. The said woman was about to answer when the doors were slid open quite brutally.

"Kaa-chan!" the blond yelled, looking a little teary-eyed for someone his age.

"'Kaa-chan?'" everyone asked as they looked at the six year old boy.

The said boy backtracked a bit once he saw the guests and blinked rapidly, "Oops… uh… I'll… come back later, Kaa-chan, I'll just… um… ask Ashi-nii…" he chuckled nervously as he started closing the door.

"Haru-chan, why don't you gather up your brothers to say hello to our guests, okay? And bring some food with you, as well." She told him with a small smile. He nodded and quickly went away.

The guests were flabbergasted in the room. Mito slowly turned to her friend, "B-But, you said you didn't have a husband."

"I don't," she confirmed.  
"B-But…"  
"I never said anything about not having children though," Sakura said slyly.  
"You never told us," Hashirama spoke up.  
"You never asked," she smirked, "People assume that since I have no husband, I have no children. You have to look underneath the underneath."

"Then… you were married?" Tobirama asked.

Sakura shook her head, "No, I was never married… I adopted them," she closed her eyes a moment, "They were orphans from destroyed villages and decided to adopt them… since I can't have children of my own."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the Uzumaki said.

The white-haired woman shook her head, "Don't be, they're my children, I raised them and took care of them."

Izuna watched this exchange and took a glance at his brother who was probably shocked at the news. He mentally smirked though, even if Madara wanted Sakura, the elders would never accept a woman who could bear no heir become the matriarch of the Uchiha Clan. His hopes were renewed.

There was a knock at the door and Sakura called them to come in, the doors slid open to reveal five boys, the eldest in front and three boys behind him, forming a V, they were kneeling in greeting. The mother smiled proudly, they still remembered the customs, she got up and went over to them.

"May I present to you my children, my eldest, Ashido, Daisuke, Haruki, Kaito and my youngest, Akira," they each bowed when their name was called. "Children, these are Hashirama Senju, head of the Senju clan, his wife, Mito and his brother, Tobirama. This is Madara Uchiha, head of the Uchiha Clan and his brother, Izuna. Now come on in for a little snack for a bit okay?"

They all nodded and like perfect little sons, Akira and Daisuke set up the plates and dessert spoons, Haruki and Kaito carried the food in while Ashido reserved the tea.

"Thank you," Mito said as her cup was refilled, "My, what well behaved boys you have here, Sakura-chan, I'm jealous!"

The white-haired woman chuckled, "Sachiko is growing up as a fine woman as well," she mentioned the head couple's already five year-old daughter waiting back home for them, having conceived before the official marriage. Sakura picked up her kiseru from its perch and began putting kizami in it.

"We hope," Hashirama held his wife's hand.

Tobirama decided to speak up, "You haven't told Sakura-san the news yet, have you?"

"News?" Sakura asked.

Mito smiled and put a hand to her stomach, "Hai, I'm expecting again," she announced.

Sakura congratulated her and surprisingly, Izuna did as well, Madara though stayed quiet as he tried to hide a scowl. His rival had already an heir now, as for himself he isn't even married and he just found out that the woman he was interested in could not bear a child.

It was sickening.

Sakura then sighed and put down her kiseru, a good thing she had broken the news before she started smoking. She turned her eyes to her kids who were chatting amongst themselves, Ashido giving her a confused and slightly steeled look.

"_What is _he_ doing here?" _the eldest finally spoke up, talking in the secret language of the Haruno family, which their mother forced them to learn.

The guests turned their heads to him and Sakura frowned a bit, she knew that out of the five, Ashido was the most marked by the war since he lived it, witnessing the battlefield sometimes while Daisuke stayed with the younger ones in security.

"Ashido…"

"_He's the one who's responsible for all of this and you let him in our house?" _he asked, his voice not betraying his anger to the guests as he said this as if he were talking about the storm brewing. He stood up and bowed, "Thank you for the food." Taking his plate, he exited the room.

The kids turned from the way their brother left to their mother questioningly, except Daisuke, who also thought like his brother but did not voice it out loud. Sakura sighed and stood up, smiling politely at her guests, "Excuse me a moment." Her kids bowed to the guests and followed their mother out.

"What was that all about?" Mito asked to no one in particular. "What language was he speaking?"

Hashirama shrugged, "It isn't easy being a parent," he said, "A single mother taking care of five kids by herself. Sakura-san is a very strong woman."

Tobirama was about to stand up and go see if the subject in question was alright when someone beat him to it. Izuna stood up, gracefully excusing himself and left, leaving a scowling Madara in his wake.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The younger Uchiha found them in the kitchen, talking in the strange language. None of them were raising their voices but he could practically hear the anger seeping out of her elder son's words. He stepped back when the doors were slid open and Ashido marched out. The child paused and gave him a slightly hostile look before stomping off into the rain.

Sakura appeared a second later, neither surprised by his presence and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry you had to witness all that, my children don't really like strangers," she lied.

He nodded, "They're just overprotective of you, we can see it. Are _you_ alright?" he asked, taking in her pale face.

"Yes, I suppose," she replied airily then turned to her side where, surprisingly, a white wolf was, "Go and make sure he's alright," she ordered. The wolf nodded and leapt out into the rain, following Ashido's scent. She turned and smiled at him, "Sorry about that again, let's go back, shall we? If you've left your brother alone over there, then I'm afraid there has to be some tension in the room." She made to leave when he grabbed her wrist, stopping her, she looked back at him.

"… Please… I don't like it when you force yourself to smile. You don't have to pretend… when you're with me. If you're sad, then be sad and when you're happy, smile. But please, don't smile when you don't want to."

Sakura stared at the man, he wasn't like his brother, he wasn't like the cold Uchiha, this one was different.

And she liked it.

"Hai, Izuna."

_The pink-haired twenty-three year old hid behind a boulder as Kabuto's minions passed by. She clutched her waist where one had gotten a lucky shot. But hey, eight against one wasn't exactly fair now was it? She was about to jump off into the trees to join her squad a few kilometers south where they had been separated, when a hand shot out and pulled her back towards the ground. Her eyes widened and she was about to shout and fight when he held a hand to her mouth and jumped behind a nearby tree. _

"_Calm down," he whispered. _

_Sakura froze at the voice and looked up into familiar Sharingan eyes. At the sight of him, she was effectively shut up and frozen in place as a fleet of Zetsu passed by. She broke her stare away and stood still, trying not to flinch as he gripped her injured waist. After a few minutes and a scout of the Sharingan to make sure no more were coming, he finally let her go._

_She slid to the ground panting a bit, reminded of the time in the Forest of Death where a similar situation happened. She looked up and found a hand right in front of her. Her gaze lifted up until their eyes met. Not breaking eye contact, she accepted his hand and let him pull her up and teleport them to a nearby cave. She sat down heavily against the rocky and slightly humid walls. _

"_You're hurt," it was a statement as he looked at the red that stuck to his arm where he had held her. She looked away and started healing herself. _

_The quiet was almost deafening to both of them._

_When she finished, she pulled back her sleeve to look at the shining seal there. She was always looking, always checking if the protective barrier she put around her precious treasures was intact. _

"_How are they?" he asked. The raven-haired had only met them once when she had moved them to a safer location, crossing in the woods. He had been surprised but then remembered that Naruto told him their former teammate had people who were more precious to her than even them now._

_She looked up, "They're fine, thank you for asking," she looked back down and a small smile appeared on her face as she caressed the seal, pushing in more chakra into it to give it more power._

"_And you?" _

_Her head quickly turned to him at that and she forced a smile, "I'm alright."_

_In a second he was in front of her, looking her dead in the eyes, "Don't lie, Sakura. I've had enough of them." They held each other's gaze for a few moments until she looked away. He resisted the urge to sigh and put up a hand, it hovered over her head, remembering the times when he would see Naruto put a comforting hand on her head, which always elicited a real smile from her. Fisting his hand, he let it drop to his side. _

"_I've been lied to since I was little… almost my whole life was a lie. Naruto even lies to me sometimes… but you…" he took her chin, "You haven't lied to me… so don't start now." His eyes hardened, "If you're sad, then be sad, if you're happy then be happy… and if you're in pain… don't hide it with that fake smile." He traced her jaw, "Don't you love me anymore?"_

"_I still love you," she answered sincerely, "But not the way you think. I still care about you, Sasuke…"_

"_But not the way I love you now," he spoke, laughing hollowly, "Fate is a bitch. I guess it's my punishment for hurting you so much back then…"_

_She didn't answer, move nor respond as he leaned in to connect their lips._

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura knocked softly at the doors. Her guests had already departed when the storm had calmed, not wanting to be a burden to the family.

"Ashido? Can I come in?" she asked, she was worried and felt guilty.

They were kids, they didn't understand fully what their situation was and putting them, especially the older ones, in this kind of circumstance was stressing. For all they knew, she just had tea with the man who destroyed their village, killed their friends and loved ones.

It was hard to stay calm.

There was a grunt at the other side and she slid the door open. The boy was sitting near the circular window on the opposite side of the door, looking out into the rain.

"Ashido… I…" she paused, apologizing just didn't cut it to her, "This life… we have to lead, it's going to be hard. We will have to go through things that we won't want to take part in and do things that are against what our hearts are telling us. I'm sorry… that it also has to be your burden. I really am.

My job is to teach you… to guide you through life… I would do anything to keep you safe and happy. The situation we're stuck in doesn't give me that much chance, I have realized, to make you happy… but…" she closes her eyes, really not knowing what to add.

"It's okay."

She looked up at the sound of his voice. He was facing her with a smile… and she knew…

It was okay.


	7. Chapter 6

**Thank you for everyone who reviewed: angel897 (my very first reviewer :D). unknown98, asdf, inspirit and the Guests.**

**Review answers:**

**inspirit: I know that her pink hair is what makes her Sakura and I did really hesitate with this decision. But in this fic, she had lost everything: her village, her friensd and family and most importantly, she lost her identity and the pink hair is a part of her identity. So I thought it would fit well.**

**Please feel free to drop in a question or two and it will be answered. **

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Chapter 6:

One month later…

It was a cool autumn day and the kids took advantage of it by going outside and doing the things that was too tiring to do in the summer and too cold in the winter. They were playing outside when a butterfly sailed through from the forest, informing them that they had a guest. Not a moment later, Uchiha Izuna appeared.

They paused and stared at him as if he were an alien who just landed on earth, waiting to be taken to their leader. In all honesty, it was probably the case as Izuna looked a little lost in the middle of the kids who bore holes through his skull.

He smiled amiably, "Good morning. Is your mother home?" he asked.

It was Ashido who stepped up, "Good morning. Yeah, she's in the living room…" he answered and turned towards the door where the white wolf seemed to be waiting, a butterfly perched comically on the tip of his black nose. "Just follow Rakuen."

With a nod of thanks, he went up to the porch and greeted the wolf, watching from the corner of his eye as the butterfly that guided him through the forest floated away. The wolf did not say anything as their entered the house and walked along the corridors. Izuna noticed that wolves were apparently abundant in the house since they had passed by at least three of them on their way to the living room.

"Everyone has a wolf summon?" the Uchiha decided to ask to the wolf.

The white wolf turned back a bit to look at him, "We are the familiars of this family," he answered.

"Have there been many generations of wolf summons in this family?"

"…I wouldn't know, I am still fairly young compared to the other summons and guardians in this world," he replied, glad that the Uchiha was clever and asked interesting questions. He would be a very nice intellectual partner for his mistress.

Finally arriving in the living room, Rakuen pushed one of the doors open with his paw and gestured for him to enter. He did and the door closed behind him.

His eyes were immediately drawn towards the beautiful and graceful presence in the middle of the room. Today, she was wearing a lavish dark purple kimono with a lavender obi. Her short hair was pinned up into a small bun and her lips were painted a brilliant red, drawing attention to her full lips and her flawless complexion.

Her emerald eyes shined as she smiled at him, "Please, have a seat."

He made his way over to her and sat on the opposite of the table, "It's only been a month since you and your brother have been here and now here you are again." She smirked teasingly, "Did you miss me that much, Izuna-kun?"

The Uchiha didn't miss a beat, "It's always a pleasure to see you, Sakura-san and I must admit that the month which passed was truly a bore and uninteresting without you," he replied.

"I'm flattered," she smiled with her eyes closed, "I suppose I have been quite bored at times as well," she confessed.

Izuna nodded, still looking at the woman before him with something akin to infatuation. With the greetings out of the way, they started to made idle chat. The topics of conversations for that morning were how the health of the family went to any progress in their Shinobi careers and experiences.

"You are still so young, Izuna, you'll still have much to learn and much to experience," she said, taking a drag of her kiseru before blowing it out.

"I am not that young, Sakura-san," he smiled teasingly.

She hummed thoughtfully as she gazed at his face approvingly, "Indeed…"

They were then interrupted when the kids came barging in, all laughs and tumbles, "We're going up to… you-know-where," they said.

The mother nodded, "Alright, just be careful and don't lose sight of Rakuen and the cubs, alright?" she told them. They nodded readily and with a collective shout of 'bye', they were on their way out.

Izuna watched them stumble away fondly, "What energetic kids. All that the kids do back at the estate is train all day. I don't think I've ever seen anyone above the age of seven plays with toys or anything of the like."

Sakura shrugged, "Most Shinobi Clans are like that," she tilted her head up towards the ceiling, "They push their children to attain goals far beyond their capacities and most of them break before they make it…" her eyes darkened, "Those few, rare ones who do make it are scarred in ways unimaginable for their still young and fragile psych…" she then lightly shook her head, "What am I going on about? I'm sorry."

The dark-haired shook his head, "It's alright. I believe that you have profound insight on things. It's very interesting. Are you from a Shinobi family also?"

"No, not at all, my family was always merchants. I'm the first one to have made it far into the Shinobi world."

"Amazing."

They stayed in a comfortable silence.

"Would you like to go out into the garden? The autumn flowers have just bloomed," she proposed. With a nod from him, they stood up and made their way outside.

The flowers were grown on the sides and in little groups all over the medium-sized garden. Sakura kneeled down and brushed the petals gently.

"Are you quite fond of flowers?" Izuna remarked, watching her.

"Oh, I love them," she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Flowers and trees remind me of my old village."

"…May I ask what happened to it?"

"A casualty of war," she replied with a sad smile, "I'm grateful that my children and I have lived peacefully up until now."

"You must be their savior."

"No, they are mine."

Izuna kneeled next to her and took her hand, "Sakura," he called out softly; the lack of honorific gave it an intimate feel. She looked up at him with unreadable jade eyes. He felt himself being pulled by those orbs, closer and closer until he feared that he would be drawn in completely and lose his sanity. His other hand went up and brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles.

"Forgive me…" he started, the woman before him was brought to confusion at this statement. "Forgive me… for I have fallen in love with you to the deepest depths of my heart and soul. And… I fear… that I will not be able to let you go."

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One year later…

Sakura sat up from her futon, running a hand through her hair to get it out of her face and stood up. She shivered when the cold air connected to her bare body and quickly took her kimono. Draping it over herself, she made her way outside, but not before taking a glance at the man sleeping soundly on the futon. Sighing quietly, she closed the doors and went to sit on the porch.

As soon as she sat down, her kiseru, already lit, was offered to her by Rakuen, "Thank you." Taking it, she took a long drag and smiled gratefully when he also put down a bottle of sake and two cups.

The two stayed quiet for a few minutes, watching the slightly glowing silhouettes of lone spirits passing by quietly.

"_Please tell me this is part of the plan,"_ Rakuen then spoke up, his voice low and dead serious with a twinge of desperation, staring at his mistress.

Sakura turned to him, locking eyes with her faithful guardian, _"Our plan… was to get closer to Madara, to maybe stop him, limit his powers, anything that could help us in the future." _She leaned back, _"Our first plan was to get closer to him… but since knowing that I could not bear him an heir, the Uchiha elders forbade him from courting me. Izuna… he said that despite this, Madara is still interested." S_akura put her kiseru down and down the sake cup in one go.

"_You still didn't answer my question, Sakura-hime, you've started a relationship with Uchiha Izuna… the brother… how does that tie into our plan?" _he asked.

"_I can no longer get close to Madara, and if I get further away, I will not be able to influence him any longer and nothing will change. The next best thing would be to get closer to someone he relies on, someone he trusts. Nothing is a coincidence."_

Rakuen stayed quiet for a while so Sakura continued, _"He proposed to me…" _She informed him, making him look up in shock.

"…_and?"_

"_I accepted."_

The silence that followed was heavy with tension before Rakuen sighed and ran a hand through his hair, _"There's nothing to be done about it if you've already made your decision, Sakura-hime… just be careful. I'll always be here to support you. But the kids…"_

"_I've already explained to them the situation; my first mistake was to not include them in my decisions. I had already told them that for the sake of the people precious to us, things that they might not like or be able to accept have to be done. They understand…"_

_They understand._

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The white-haired woman stared at herself in the mirror. Her silky white wedding kimono of the highest quality shone, her hair tied up into the traditional headpiece, the tsunokakushi.

"You look pretty, Kaa-chan," Akira spoke up. She turned and smiled at her five boys then approached them with a frown.

"Are you sure you're all okay-

"It's okay… Kaa-chan," Ashido spoke up, he locked gazes with his four brothers before turning to his mother, "We know that you have to do this. We're just… we just feel guilty that you're the one making all the sacrifices while we just watch." He confessed, the other four nodding their heads, completely agreeing with him.

She held out her arms and they all came, "No, you've sacrificed a lot for me already, you count more to me than anyone on this planet, you know that, right?" she held on tighter, "I love you all so much it hurts me just thinking that you're unhappy with this."

They parted from her, "We're a bit… displeased with this… but we understand why you have to do this," Daisuke spoke up, "You're our beloved mother… and we know the future means a lot to you… but we'll be happy as long as Kaa-chan is here."

They understood.

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The wedding was a big event, even if Izuna wasn't the heir, he was still part of the head family so it was just as important. Only Uchihas were allowed since it was more like a private wedding, but when Madara marries, they will be obligated to invite all the important people such as the Daimyo of the land as well as heads of other Clans.

That night… it made her think…

Was it really just for the future?

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Izuna, being free of the responsibilities of being head, would come and live with her at their home. Madara had been against it but Izuna fought for it fervently, hitting low with the argument that just because he couldn't have Sakura, doesn't mean he should barrel into her private affairs.

"I decided on my own that I would go live with her after matrimony," he practically shouted at him, "Sakura is _my wife_ now, and you have absolutely _no right _to control me when it comes to my private life. You can order me to kill, to torture, to destroy anyone… but you cannot control me when it comes to Sakura's happiness.

…Her children are her life, Madara, she will always put them first, above me, above herself and even above the world. I just want to make her happy… and if you ever had feelings for her, you would want that too."

With that, he bid goodbye to his brother.

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"You really said all that?" Sakura asked, cleaning her kiseru in the living room. Her husband was lying on the floor, looking up at the decorated ceiling.

"Yes," he sat up and leaned over, giving her a peck on the mouth, of course he didn't give her the full details, "be glad that it didn't escalate into a physical fight."

She giggled quietly, drying her kiseru by blowing a wisp of wind inside the head and mouthpiece then taking the new wooden body and reassembling it. The Uchiha passed her the kizame and she nodded in gratitude and started smoking. They vaguely heard the kids laughing loudly outside.

Izuna frowned, "They still don't like me," he stated.

Sakura looked up at him and sighed, "Give them some time. They'll come around… you're the kind of person they like, anyways."

He stared almost disbelievingly at his wife, "It's been two months that we've been married and they've known me for a whole year already."

The newly named Uchiha shrugged, "Go out and talk to them then. Get to know them. Don't force it too much though or they'll hate you even more."

Izuna rolled his eyes but a smile appeared on his handsome features, he stood up, going around the table and kissed the white-haired woman, "I'll try." He then made his way outside.

Rakuen appeared in front of her with an amused grin, "Good luck… you'll need it." Sakura jabbed him in the ribs for that.

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He found his youngest step-son as soon as he left the house. The young blond was on the porch, behind him lay a stack of blank pieces of parchments while in front of him, at least six scrolls were open in disarray, all had different designs for seals. He held a brush in his right hand, twirling it around and comically getting some ink on his clothes, face and hair. His wolf was lying on his stomach, looking bored as hell, only barking when Akira got ink on his fur.

Izuna went over to him, making sure to let his steps be heard. He had learned the hard way that Sakura's children were already very much adept in fighting after Ashido had practically sent him flying when he snuck up on him. Akira looked up at his step-father and gave a small smile. Out of the five, he was the only one who was at least amiable with him, the rest just pretended he wasn't there or chose to spend as little time as possible with him, only exchanging a brief 'hello' then right after a 'goodbye'.

"What are you working on?" the Uchiha asked.

"Kaa-chan told me to design a custom seal," he replied, then scratched his head, "Easier said than done."

"It's the first time you've tried to make one?" he asked.

"Yeah, I usually just memorize and use Kaa-chan's seals. This time though, she told me to make a seal that keeps things fresh, Kai-nii needs it to keep his medical herbs from dying too quickly," he said all this as he started scribbling away on a new scroll.

"Hmm, I see," Izuna glanced at his previous works, he recognized some of them, which were usually used to seal off doors and scrolls but the rest he had never seen before. He pointed to one, "It seems I've seen this before somewhere but I don't quite remember..."

The eight year old looked at what he was pointing at, "That one's usually used to keep corpses from rotting if you're gonna travel with it," he explained.

"Why didn't it work?"

"Well… it was too strong and when I tried it, it froze the herbs and killed them instead of just keeping them fresh," he laughed, "I've tried one that just keeps them cold for a few minutes… and now I'm lost." He finished lamely.

Izuna picked the two seals up and examined them, "I'm not a pro at seals, I never even use them… but couldn't you use the long lasting one to upgrade the second one? You… get what I'm saying?"

Akira thought about it and his eyes widened, "Yeah! I could totally do that!" he began scribbling away, stopped and looked up, "can I call you Izuna? I don't think I can call you Otou-san and Izuna-san would be weird since you're family."

He nodded, "Yes, you can."

"Then call me Akira!"

Akira was very open and more sociable than his brothers.

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He encountered Haruki and Kaito next. The two were having a match and he would later think that Sakura is a very scary woman if her nine year olds were already at the level of fourteen year old Uchiha kids trained from birth.

He watched them face off, earth against water, no hand seals at all. Haruki pulled up the earth beneath him into a block and propelled it towards his brother. Kaito quickly moved the water from the small pond behind him to lift him up into the air, avoiding the attack and now was trying to whip his brother with the water. The blond held his arms above his head to try and shield himself. Growling, he rolled to the ground, rolling the earth over him to make a shield.

Kaito, seeing that it was futile to continue his attacks stopped and instead pushed water against the protective dome. He frowned in annoyance as it wouldn't budge, he put more power into it, turning the water into ice shards and chipping the earth away. The surprise of the day for him was when he went down towards the ground and saw that the dome was empty. He groaned and slapped his head as he felt a razor sharp rock tip protruding from the ground, near his neck and the spikes surrounding him.

Haruki arose from inside the ground with a whoop, "Yeah! I won again!" the spikes of earth retreated and he patted his brother lightly on the back, "You always fall for that one, you should be more careful, seriously. Well, it's okay, that's why I'm here, you can call me Haruki-sama from now on!"

Kaito just stared at him skeptically and splashed water on his smug face, "Shut up." They were about to start fighting again when they hear claps. They turned and saw their step-father there who approached them with hand towels, offering it to them. They took it carefully from the older man. "Thanks."

Izuna smiled, "That was amazing, Sakura told me that you guys were proficient at fighting but seeing you actually spar is really startling to me. The only things nine year old Uchihas can do right now is throw kunais and shurikens and a few basic jutsus but you guys really are levels away from them."

Kaito and Haruki were pleased at the compliments, "Thanks!"

Haruki tried to rub the dirt off his face, "If you think that was cool, you should see Kaa-chan!" he exclaimed.

Kaito readily nodded in agreement, "You haven't really seen power until you see Kaa-chan in action."

The Uchiha then thought about it, it's true he's never seen his wife fight before. Sure he saw her use some elements to clean her kiseru, water the garden or blow away the dust from the rooms, but never in an actual fight.

"Hey!" he looked up when Haruki called out to him, the boys looked serious all of a sudden, "You… like Kaa-chan, right?" he asked slowly.

Izuna blinked at the question and quickly answered, not wanting them to get the wrong impression, "Of course."

Kaito then spoke up, "What would you do for her? What would you give for her?"

Izuna didn't need to think about it long, "I would do anything to make her happy and I would give my life for her."

There was a pause and Izuna was starting to ask himself if it was enough of an answer. He almost –almost- sighed in relief when they broke out into smiles.

"Okay, but if you don't keep your promise, we'll go after you, okay?" They said this with matching grins and closed half closed eyes.

Oh, yeah, they were definitely Sakura's children. He's seen that slightly maniacal grin on her face more than once before. More often than not in the bedroom… but it was essentially the same.

"Okay."

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Izuna sighed and made his way towards the vegetable garden where he would pick some up, at his wife's demand, for the stew for tonight. Since he was from the head family, he never had to do something as trivial as actually getting or preparing the food he was going to eat, that's what servants were for. Needless to say he made a fool of himself in front of his step-sons the first time he picked out vegetables.

Basket in hand, he rounded the house and stopped when he saw the second oldest son standing in the middle of the cabbage patch. He waited a bit, only seeing Daisuke's back, he often saw Sakura standing in one place, seemingly looking and talking to someone he couldn't see. It was maybe a habit of hers to do that and it passed onto her son. Soon enough though, Daisuke finally moved and turned, curiously, in his hand was an oddly shaped kunai. Daisuke was starting to study it when looked up and stared right at him.

"Ah, I'm sorry for interrupting you," Izuna apologized.

Daisuke shrugged, "It's fine, I was done anyways." He then carefully treaded his way through the garden, making sure not to step on any cabbages. He stopped in front of Izuna and looked at the basket, with a smirk he asked, "Would you like some help?"

Izuna was certain that he would be reminded of that incident for the rest of his life, but decided to take it in stride, knowing he meant nothing but teasing, "I would like that, thank you."

Daisuke nodded and put the kunai on top of the well they had out back, usually used to water the garden. He rolled up his sleeves, "What do we need?"

"Potatoes, carrots and some spices," he responded, making his way across the salad to get to the carrots.

"Stew tonight?"

"Yes."

With that, Izuna started pulling up the carrots while Daisuke dug up the potatoes. Soon, they had a basket full and they both made their way over towards the spices.

"What kind does your mother use normally? She didn't tell me to get any specific ones," Izuna told the ten year old.

"If she says that she just needs spices, that means that she's all out and we have to replenish the pantry," Daisuke informed him, "A handful of each would do it."

Izuna nodded mutely and began taking handfuls of a random plant in front of him, not really knowing what it was. He was about to take one from the next row when Daisuke cried out.

"Wait! Not that one!" the black-haired boy jumped over to him and inspected the bush-like plant. He dug his hands around it a bit before stopping and looking inside. The Uchiha took a glance at it but saw nothing but the branches growing from the root. Apparently, it was something more since Daisuke looked relieved, "Alright, nothing happened." He looked up through his glasses at him, "Sorry, it's just…" he pursed his lips and looked away, "Kaa-chan told me to take care of this bush… don't ask me why! Just…"

"I understand and I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused," he apologized then turned to the bush, brushing his fingers along it, "I've seen your mother here by this bush as well a few times. There must be something special about it, right?"

Daisuke looked away and didn't respond.

"Each family has their own secret… and I have the distinct feeling that yours has a lot," Daisuke looked up at him warily and he held his hands up in peace, "But I'm not going to go and try to find them. I respect your privacy and I know that before I came into the picture, it was just you five and your mother. But, I care about her, and I care about you and I would like to get to know you guys better… not only for Sakura, but for myself. If you would."

Daisuke pushed up his glasses, looking, really looking at Izuna. He tilted his mouth to the side, "You… came to live with us… when it was supposed to be the other way," he spoke, "I heard you made a little ruckus with your decision to marry Kaa-chan but you married her anyways. I guess… I could try," he finally concluded, almost as if he were talking to himself.

"Thank you."

Daisuke just shrugged, "I'm not as open as Akira is but I try. Anyways, Kaa-chan is very careful with who she lets in her circle," he said mysteriously, "Her judgment is impartial and if she deems you trustworthy enough to stay with us, then, I have the certitude that _we_ can trust you as well." Izuna was still amazed at the boy's varied vocabulary for someone his age.

After he finished his sentence, his eyes shifted to look behind his step-father. Izuna already knew that Ashido was there, for how long, he didn't know precisely, but his chakra signal appeared a minute ago. Izuna added 'chakra suppression' to the growing list of what Sakura's kids could do that he should be cautious of in the future.

He turned and met the eldest son's eyes, which revealed nothing about his emotions; neither did the tone of his voice, "May I have some of your time, Izuna-san?"

The man noted that this was the first time they willingly asked for a conversation with him and immediately accepted. Then he remembered his errand and turned to the full basket which was already in Daisuke's hand, "Don't worry, I got it, you guys go on. I promised Kaa-chan to help her with dinner anyways."

Ashido gave his little brother a grateful nod and the two made their way towards the general direction of the forest, where they wouldn't be interrupted.

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They found themselves standing face to face near the river.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush so I'm just going say it: if you hurt our mother, you're dead. It's as simple as that."

Izuna knew it was going to be some kind of threat that he was going to get from the elder. Sakura had told him that Ashido was probably the one who despised change the most; he was the sort to keep with habits and such. His mother's marriage was probably a big deal for him, more than to the others.

"I understand," he replied evenly, "But there will be no 'if' or 'when' I will hurt her because I would rather take my life first. I love Sakura. I don't quite know if she loves me as much as I do, but she chose to marry _me_. She is your mother before she is my wife, I understand that, and I would never try to change it."

The red-haired teen stayed quiet and he took that as a sign to continue.

"I also know that if she had to choose between you and me… she would immediately without hesitation, choose you. But that's okay. I'm perfectly fine with that because I'm the outsider; I'm the one who wormed myself in your already full family. I am aware that I will never become a father to you, but I hope that you'll at least see me as someone who you can also count on… to lift some responsibility off Sakura's shoulders a bit. I hope so, at least. But… I will still make that promise then. If I ever hurt your mother… then you have the right to rid me of this world. Deal?"

"Deal."

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Dinner was different that night. Usually, it would be the kids talking to each other and their mother, disregarding the man sitting next to her. But tonight…

"Hey, Outsider, please pass the salt."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and the occupants of the table turned to the eldest brother.

"Out… sider?" Daisuke repeated.

Ashido smirked and stared right at Izuna, "Hai, Outsider, that's the name he thought up of himself."

Izuna blinked and picked up the salt plate next to his bowl and passed it over. He snuck a glance at his wife who was hiding a smirk behind her sake cup. He also decided that he needed a shot and drank his cup.

"Eh? Outsider… it isn't that bad…" Akira added, tilting his head in thought.

Haruki laughed, "I like it!"

"Me too!" agreed Kaito.

Izuna wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a good or bad sign, especially from the collective smirk he was receiving from the family.

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"Out of all the things he could've called me, Outsider was by far the last on the list… but not the worst, I must admit," Izuna spoke as he took off his shirt, getting his sleeping yukata from his side of the closet.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about it," his wife reassured him, coming up behind him and putting her arms around his waist, "… you'll get used to it," she patted his abs affectionately with a smile. She heard him sigh and turn in her arms. He looked down at her, the top of her head only reaching his chin.

"Get used to it?" he repeated, taking slow steps forward.

"Yeah, it means that they've more or less accepted you," she informed him and giggled a bit when he brought her down onto their futon gently, hovering over her.

"Accepted me?" he brushed his lips against hers, "I knew that your family was unique… but not to the point that instead of saying 'welcome to the family' they say 'one wrong step and we'll kill you'," he whispered in her ear, then leaned his head down to nip at her jawline.

She shivered, "Oh, but my family is _that_ unique…" she whispered back.

"Mm, I'd sure like to know more about how unique _you_ are," he purred.

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Sakura stretched her arms above her head and sighed, watching as her kids ran ahead of her. She looked back at Izuna who got stuck with carrying their stuff. She hid a smile, "You alright there, darling?"

He gave her a skeptical look before readjusting the giant bag on his back and the two heavy baskets in each of his hands, "Perfectly fine!" he replied sarcastically.

She had offered to carry the baskets for him but he refused, his manners didn't let him… and partly from the stares he got from the boys whenever their mother offered. They were just waiting for him to crack so they'd have an excuse to maim him. But, oh no, he wasn't going to give them that satisfaction.

Once they got to the top of the cliff they were trekking up, he let down the luggage and rolled his stiff and slightly sore shoulders. He then walked over leisurely to the edge of the cliff. The family had been talking about the place since they decided they needed a little vacation away from home.

Looking out from the cliffside, he now knew why they called it their secret little Paradise. From behind the genjutsu and the seals placed to hide the site, it opened to green scenery, a waterfall, a big lake of water, soft green grass and by its location, they would get to see the sunrise and sunset and get the maximum amount of sun in one day.

Hakuna Matata.

"Wow, if I knew such a place existed…" he began, looking down.

"That's impossible," she said, "This place is protected by many things and as of now, only we know of its existence… it's kind of a… family secret," she winked.

He chuckled, "Another one, eh? Does it ever end?" he turned to her.

She smiled coyly, "Nope."

He watched as the kids started taking their clothes off until they were in their bathing suits: simple shorts. He raised an eyebrow since they weren't even down yet then his eyes widened slightly in shock when in one movement, they all jumped over the cliff, yelling and screaming as they made their descent into the water below almost a kilometer away.

Looking back to his wife, his eyebrows shot up as he eyed the black and white two piece halter top and side tie bikini bottom, which she had hidden under her kimono. She strutted over to him, hips deliberately swinging, and smirked a bit at his face, and placed a soft chaste kiss on his lips.

"Come on, it's a family tradition," she said as she went over and gracefully swan dived into the water below.

He looked at the swimming trunks in his hand that she had handed him during their kiss and needed no more push as he undressed, put the trunks on and joined his family in the water below.

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Izuna sat on the towel a few feet away from the edge of the water, baking in the sun while watching his wife make giant waves for her kids to surf on. The water plopped noisily back into place as the kids landed on their mother.

It was a heart-warming sight really, and it always made him feel like he didn't belong. Like he was protruding on something private and intimate in the life of the family…

But as Akira looked up to him and waved, beckoning him to join them, he understood that he really didn't have anything to worry about. He loved this family and though he might not be sure it was reciprocal, he was happy and he hoped they were too.

It was all he could really ask for.

* * *

**So Sakura decided to marry Izuna. I found authors rarely did that, so I said, why not?**

**I had written these chapters all the way in June 2012 so most of the story's already been written out. It would be improbable that I would change anything at this point so I'm sorry for those who will be disappointed by the coming chapters.**

**Please review.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Since it's my b-day, I've decided to post another chapter.  
For this one, some may be disappointed, as I have told earlier.**

**To clear up the ages (sorry, I kinda forgot to put it on):**

Sakura - 30  
Ashido - 11  
Daisuke - 10  
Haruki/Kaito - 9  
Akira - 8  
Hashirama - 23  
Madara - 23  
Tobirama - 20  
Izuna - 21  
Mito - 26

* * *

Chapter 7:

Five months later…

"We're leaving now!" Sakura shouted. Footsteps soon followed as the youngest three skidded across the yard, the older two following behind at a normal pace.

"Bye, Kaa-chan, be careful," Akira said, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek. The four followed right after, saying goodbye then giving her a kiss. Akira was the only one who hugged Izuna; the others just wished him a good time at the party.

Being from the head family but not the heir had its advantages but they couldn't get out of having to show their faces at gatherings. This was the second time they would be seen together as a married couple, the first being their marriage. Some of the more important people, but not all, were invited on the pretext of a supposed alliance project.

Izuna and Sakura arrived a few minutes after the start and made it in time for Madara's opening speech. At their arrival, everyone had their eyes on the beautiful Uchiha. Women envied and men lusted. She had worn a grey kimono with white lilies as the design, a white obi and various hair ornaments for her now hip-length hair. The white-haired woman diligently ignored the heated looks her brother-in-law was giving her though. Sakura immediately saw Mito Uzumaki, her son and daughter in tow, Hashirama right behind them.

"Sakura-chan! It's been a while," Mito greeted and her kids looked up at her in awe.

Sakura smiled and returned the greeting before bent her knees a bit to be at head level for the kids, "Hello, there… you must be Sachiko-chan," the brown-haired girl blushed at the sight of the woman and just meekly nodded in affirmation. She then turned to the little boy, "And you must be Hideki-kun, it's nice to meet you! My, you're going to grown up strong just like your father, I can see it." Little Hideki blushed at the appreciation.

Izuna tried to hide a fond smile at his wife's display, she really did love children. The girls talked while Izuna started a conversation with Hashirama.

"Your brother did not come?" the Uchiha asked.

Hashirama shook his head, "I'm afraid that he's caught up in some things."

Izuna nodded, knowing that Tobirama was also interested in Sakura but because of his stubbornness, he missed out his chance. The black-haired man thought himself lucky that he had talked and courted the medic first. They talked about trivial things like how the Senju Clan was getting bigger every year and how the Uchihas were limiting the people who could leave the clan. The casual discussion though turned into a tense silence as Madara joined them.

Mito looked up from talking with Sakura, "Uh oh, don't look now but things are about to get heated…" she gestured her head to the two Clan heads.

The medic frowned a bit, holding Sachiko in one arm, "I should probably intervene…" she mumbled and Mito nodded in agreement, watching as the tones of her husband and his rival began to go up a notch.

"You're the only one I know brave and not to mention strong enough to be able to stop them, I do believe."

Sakura put down the little Senju, smirking at Mito, "You give me too much credit," she was about to go over there and break the fight when a wave of nausea overcame her. She stopped as her vision doubled and she staggered in her step.

Mito, seeing her ever graceful friend stop and swoon a bit became worried and approached the woman, "Sakura-chan? Are you alright?"

The said woman nodded, "Yeah, just a bit disoriented. Must be the heat," she reasoned, forcing a smile as a headache overcame her. She closed her eyes a minute and sent healing chakra to her temples but it did little to really help her. She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what was wrong with her.

"Sakura-chan, are you sure you're alright? You're all pale all of a sudden!"

The white-haired woman took a shaky breath; "I think I need to lie down…" she bit out, putting a hand to her forehead. Mito helped her away from prying eyes, sitting her down on a bench behind the party.

"You don't look too good… I'm calling your husband, just stay here, okay?" the Senju scurried away but Sakura only half-registered what she said as a booming headache hit her. She could only vaguely take in Izuna rushing to her side and asking her something that sounded all jumbled up in her head, his brother close behind him.

She felt her body being picked up and carried through the garden and hallways to a room. She was carefully laid down on it and she could hear the faint voice of Madara asking for a doctor to come. She grimaced, two of the best medics in the country were present and if they couldn't figure out what she had then it wouldn't really matter who came.

Putting her hands at the sides of her head, her hands shone green as she tried desperately to heal herself. Another healing chakra accompanied hers, which she could tell was Hashirama's, trying to appease her. The soothing chakra helped and soon enough, after what seemed like forever, she pulled her hands away from her head and sighed in relief, Hashirama strayed a bit longer, just in case, before removing his hands. The room became clear again, as well as the voices and the people.

She first saw Izuna looking down at her, looking worried than he had ever been, "Sakura?" he asked.

She let out a loud sigh, "I'm alright, no need to get all jumpy," she assured.

Izuna was still not convinced, "What happened?"

"It's probably the heat," she replied airily and thanked Mito as she placed a cold towel on her forehead.

"It's never hit you this hard though, and we've had worse temperatures."

She closed her eyes, "I'm tired right now and I need some time to check and see what's wrong," she then turned to the red-haired woman, "Mito, could you please stay here for a while?"

With that, Mito ushered the men out and went to Sakura's bedside, "You need anything?"

"Yeah…" the white-haired woman said, looking up at the ceiling, "I need you to tell me if it hurts as much as they say."

Mito blinked, "Hurts? What hurts?" she was genuinely confused as she stared at the ill woman.

Sakura looked her dead in the eye, "Childbirth."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The party was over and Mito had run over to him straight away, saying that Sakura needed him. He found his wife in the garden, shouting up at the heavens. When she had come back into the room to face him, she looked tired. He instantly became worried and asked her if it really was nothing… and she broke the news to him.

He was stunned, shocked, shaken but happiness started bubbling up inside of him. Then he remembered, turned to his wife and asked her… if she was happy. For the first time in his life, Izuna saw the tears flowing down her rosy cheeks steadily. She wasn't making any noise; the tears just fell down silently as she whispered quietly…

"I never thought I would have this chance…"

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The news was taken rather pleasantly by the children. As a mother, Sakura knew that now they felt some insecurity since they were going to have a younger sibling who was actually blood related to their mother. After Izuna left and gave them space, knowing that he shouldn't be included in this talk, Sakura faced her beloved children.

"This doesn't mean that I'll love you less or that I'll love this child more than you, no," she stressed, "No matter what, you are my children and I love you with all my heart." Her eyes softened, "I don't know what I would've done without you… not only here… but when I met you as well."

"We're the ones who should be saying that," the eldest said, "You're the one who took us in… raised us, cared for us… loved us… you saved us."

Sakura smiled, "It was you who saved me…"

Her children had all helped her at one point to continue on living. They gave her another reason to go on after everything around her began falling apart, even before the war.

HitsuzanHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Eight months later…

Sakura opened her eyes. Turning her head to the left, that side was already empty of anyone. Looking towards the window, she noted the place of the sun at the ten o'clock and sighed, she had overslept again. No matter how early she went to bed, usually because Izuna forced her to sleep early for her health, she always woke up around nine or ten.

She put a hand against her swollen stomach, scanning if everything was going alright. She had already told Izuna to be prepared for a boy; needless to say he was elated at the news. They were already thinking of names to give, arguing a bit about the choices they had, but it was all in good humor. She was broken from her thoughts of various names when the door slid open carefully.

"Ah, Kaa-chan, you're awake, good morning!" the blue-haired boy entered the room, a tray of food in his hand, closing the door behind him.

Sakura nodded from her position, "Good morning, sweetie," she greeted back. He put the tray down next to her bedside and helped her up, her stomach was a bit of a hassle when she got up. The futon had been pushed to the wall so that she could lean against it. He handed her her brunch made up of rice and fish, "Thank you."

Her third oldest son had been her personal nurse since the beginning of the pregnancy, the others always came around but Kaito was the one who usually brought his work inside his mother's room, keeping her company and getting some good advice at the same time while he worked.

"Izuna had to run an errand but he said he'll be back by tonight or at the latest tomorrow morning," he informed her.

"I see," she finished her meal and thanked him once more before glancing outside.

Kaito saw the glance, "It's too hot, Kaa-chan, believe me, everyone is inside, even Ashido-nii."

At noon, the five all gathered inside the room to have lunch. Mealtime means family time where they talked to each other about nothing and everything. This particular one, an interesting subject was brought up.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," started Haruki, "But there seems to be a little, I say a little, thing missing when the Outsider isn't here."

The others agreed with him and Sakura just laughed at her kids.

"Nee, Kaa-chan… I know this isn't really meant to be talked about but… I want to know…" Ashido said, putting down his chopsticks. Everyone stopped and their attention was on him. "Uchiha Izuna, in our past… he had given up his eyes to his brother so that the Uchiha Clan could stay strong… which led him to die afterwards. Will that happen now too?"

Everyone was silent, waiting for their mother's reply.

"What will happen will happen, darling…" she answered, "If the past does repeat itself, then there's really nothing we could do to stop it."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Two months later…

Izuna flinched when another scream broke out from the adjacent room. Earlier that day, his wife had started having her contractions and her water soon broke, a month late but was nothing big to worry about. She was brought to the Uchiha estate a few weeks prior, where Mito was also invited, since she was going to be the godmother.

He wanted to be in there with her but he had the sneaking suspicion that she would rather kill him than anything else, if her screams were anything to go by.

"AAARGH! What the! Kami!" was heard. The soon to be father glanced nervously at the doors separating him from her. He then looked to his right where his brother stood erect, arms crossed and eyes fixated on nothing in particular. At his staring, Madara turned to him.

"You should be in there."

It was all he needed to step into the room and sacrifice his hand to the death grip of the suffering woman on the bed. He brushed away the stray hair that stuck on her face and paid his hand no mind, even as the pain consumed him to the point where he just couldn't feel anything in his hand anymore.

"Almost there, Sakura-sama," the midwife urged her.

He had to flinch when she suddenly sat up and let out a long scream. He leaned his head in until it touched the side of her head as he whispered sweet and kind words into her ear, his free hand rubbing circles on the small of her back.

"Just one more push!"

"Gah!" she grunted, breathing heavily.

Crying was heard.

At the sound of the voice, the mother sighed in relief and her body fell back, her husband's hand slowing her descent, making sure to cushion her tired body before removing his hands. He turned to the midwife who was washing then wrapping his son up in a blanket before handing the bundle to him.

Even though he wanted to hug and kiss the baby badly, he knew that Sakura should be the first one to show him affection. He turned and handed the baby to the weary woman, watching in happiness as a radiant smile lit up her face as she cradled their son to her chest, looking at his chubby face and running her fingers lazily through his still wet hair.

Tears sprung up in her eyes and they fell freely from her face. Izuna smiled and kissed her forehead, putting a hand on the baby's back. They looked at each other in the eyes and shared a tender kiss that portrayed their feelings.

They soon pulled away and laughed though as a cry of attention came from the small human being between them.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"I wanna see him!"  
"I was first!"  
"No, I was!"  
"Hey, I can't see!"  
"Wait your turn!"

The five boys huddled around the futon in Izuna's room at the Uchiha estate, having been brought here earlier the day, two days after the little one was born.

Akira was right next to mother, looking at the small human being in her arms. He had dark fluffy hair, just like his father and when he opened his eyes, the dark emerald green of their mother's eyes shone out to them. Izuna sat at her other side but made way for Kaito who wanted to see their new little brother up close.

"He's so cute!" Akira cooed and held out his finger. The baby looked at it with big eyes and soon enough his tiny fingers came up and wrapped around it. The blond laughed when he tried to pull the finger into his mouth. He then moved back so Haruki could take his place. Kaito also moved so Daisuke could see the baby.

"It's weird, he hasn't cried that much," Daisuke noted, brushing the baby's head of hair.

Sakura nodded, "He's a calm one. Just like Ashido was when he was little," she looked up at her eldest son who sat at the end of the bed, watching them. He gave his mother a soft smile before nodding in agreement.

"Come on, Ashi-nii! You haven't seen him up close yet!' Akira called to the eleven year old as he lightly pushed Haruki out of the way.

He looked down at the big green eyes staring up at him… and for some strange reason, the little one held his hands out to him. Everyone blinked and watched as the baby started talking baby language while holding his arms out.

"I think he wants to be held by his big brother," the mother said and looked up at her son who was silently asking if he could. "Izuna, come here, please!" she called out to her husband who was outside, conversing with some Uchiha women who wanted to see the baby.

He turned, "Coming!" he excused himself and asked them to come by a little later. He entered the room.

"The little one wants to be held by his big brother."

The Uchiha smiled and went over, taking his son in his arms carefully before handing him to the boy, showing him where to hold and such, but found that it was not needed as he naturally held the baby. It got Izuna thinking that he was probably already used to it since he had four younger brothers. Ashido bounced him a few times in his arms and a smile broke out on his face as the baby giggled as well. He then turned to the parents.

"What's his name?"

The two turned to look at each other, making a decision silently.

"Kimihiro."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Six months later…

Sakura held her hands at either side of Madara's head. Her chakra probing his eyes carefully as Izuna watched on, anxious. After a few more minutes, she stopped and put her hands in her lap.

"You've used them so much it's degraded to the point where I can no longer do anything for them anymore," she informed him. She watched as his fists balled up, glancing at her husband, he was looking down to the floor.

"Thank you, Sakura," he bit out then lifted his head a bit more to look at his brother, they exchanged glances a second before Izuna turned to her with a forced smile.

"The kids must be tired of looking after Kimihiro, you should go and relieve them," it was an order, not an offer. Normally, she wouldn't be ordered around but it seemed as if this was going to be a conversation that could change the future. She nodded and excused herself.

Walking through the desolate hallways, she passed by a member of the Uchiha council and Elder, who wasn't ashamed of scrutinizing her.

"Sakura-san," one of them, a bony woman with a criticizing stare called out with her higher-than-thou tone, "How are you faring?" it was almost sarcastic.

"Very well thank you," she replied curtly.

"I see you've brought your… children here as well… even if they are not of your blood."

Her eyes hardened as she turned to the old woman, "Does that matter?"

The woman frowned, "Of course it matters! We don't just let anyone in here! You're just lucky that Madara-sama has accepted that you and your… children could step onto our land!" She said haughtily, "But now, anyways, you can have children. You can get rid of those other ones, they're of no use to you any-

The white-haired woman's eyes flashed and in a second, she had the old woman pinned to the wall by her neck, "You say one. More. Word… and I'll rip off your tongue myself. I don't give a shit if you insult me but don't bring my children into this petty fight." She slowly let go of the woman who glared and scurried off.

"You really know how to scare them," came a voice. She turned and saw her brother-in-law standing there, arms crossed with amusement in his expression.

She shrugged, "She started it."

"Indeed she did, and I apologize for that," he said, clearing the distance between them, he lifted his hand up next to her face but then let it fall down as his brother's chakra approached them. "Well, I wish you a good evening, Sakura-san." He inclined his head to her and continued on down the hall.

She then felt arms wrapping around her middle and turned back and noted the troubled expression on his face which he tried to hide by smiling at her.

'So he had asked,' she thought.

Things were going to change from now on.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Izuna watched on fondly as Kimihiro was being doted on by his big brothers. They were all in the nursery save for Sakura who had been called over by the Senju for medical purposes. So, he was all by himself, taking care of the kids.

His son was surrounded on all sides by the five slightly older ones, each trying to catch his attention and make him laugh. It ranged from Akira who was making faces, Kaito playing peek-a-boo, Haruki imitating animal cries, Daisuke tickling him to Ashido bouncing him up on his knees.

He was being spoiled.

As Kimihiro grew little by little, they noticed that his hair color wasn't solid black nor had the tint of blue some Uchiha had. Instead, the color tinged towards a dark red in the sunlight. No doubt it would lighten into a deeper red, but Izuna could not help but wonder why it was that color. After all, his wife –he could attest to it- had the strange natural coloring of pure white. So it should have tinged off towards a lighter tint than usual or a more apparent blue.

As he gazed at his children playing though, he could not care less and shoved those inquiries and questions to the back of his mind…

After all… there were more important things than thinking about the hair color of your son.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

When Sakura came back home from her trip, she looked bubbly, as she usually was after visits to the Senju. There was just some kind of bond she had with that Clan that she didn't have with the Uchiha. Whenever she came back from visiting the Uchiha estate, she would be practically neutral and a bit irritated at times until she sees her children again.

I was always little jealous, I admit.

That meant that she felt at home with them. She had even confessed to me one time that she quite liked the Senju and their estate and wouldn't mind staying there.

Whenever the Uchiha estate was brought up, she would close herself up and become unreadable. The thoughts and opinions she had and was hiding about the Clan were obviously negative.

I didn't hold it against her though.

I knew first hand how intolerable my Clan sometimes –most times- was.

As I caressed her bare shoulder, down her arm, her breasts, then her waist and hips, brushing over her creamy thighs before retracing my steps and repeating it over again, I thought about our relationship.

I was still fairly young when we got married and the ten year difference, which did not show when we were only courting, really put up a wall after being married, though I hated to admit it. Oh no, we didn't really care about our age, but it would sometimes appear in teasing though, usually from her, when she says that I am 'youthful' and that 'the flower of spring that she was, was starting to wilt'. To that, her children would burst into laughter while I just sit there, completely out of the –probable- inside joke.

I love her nonetheless.

Being with her had taught me many things.

Many things indeed.

I had learned, first and foremost how to cook, and that, yes, it was in fact possible to burn water if highly (un)skilled enough. I had learned how to patch up small tears in shirts and pants, leaving the big ones to her lest I make it worse. I had learned to sweep floors the way the servants at the estate would do and I could truly say that my abs thanked me for it. The dishes and laundry were now a basic part of my week when I have the time (and patience).

I –like most (all) of the clan- am proud of our heritage. We come from a noble Shinobi Clan, one of the first. Thus my kin and I were doted with natural skills. A fact I was reminded of whenever my wife decided to teach me some of her ingenious jutsu. She would pout cutely with her bottom lip jutting out and occasionally stomp her foot whenever I had mastered the things she taught me in less time than she had.

I was privy on her lineage and truly admired her. Her skills were finely honed and she was dangerous. She was a lethal weapon, just like me.

A fact that I –at times- forget.

It wasn't until I had talked to my step-sons about it did it really hit me. The kids were talking about how on their first months living in their house, burglars came. Of course, most of them were civilians looking for an easy target. But sometimes they were Shinobi. They had said that their mother could feel them from miles away and she would leave, telling them to stay still.

She would always come back with a smile and stains of blood on her kimono.

It was one day, I came from a mission, ready to go home and relax when I smelled blood not far off from the frontier of the home. Alarmed, I made my way quickly towards the area. What I found there was Sakura.

It was not the mother Sakura. It was not my wife Sakura. It was not the medic Sakura.

No…

It was the Shinobi Sakura.

It hit me like a thousand shuriken only then… who she really was inside.

I could never forget the expression on her face as she stood over those corpses. Her eyes were cold, her body pulsing with deadly chakra and her presence near suffocating and screamed of power.

…In a sick, perverted sort of way though… it turned me on.

Which lead me to think about the nights we spent together. Those tender, loving and ultimately pleasurable nights. Before her, I had never consummated my relationship with any other of my courtiers, if you could call them that.

My first was Sakura… and I did not regret it.

I was, of course, certain that _I _was not her first. The way she was the one who blew my mind the first times clearly showed that it was nothing new to her.

In a way, it made me red with rage that another man had seen and touched her like I did. So I made use of my said above average intelligence to learn to please her as she deserved.

And please her I did.

Of course, after marriage, things slowed down a bit… but I am proud to say that it never got boring and it was always bliss for both parties. At least I hoped so.

As I continued on watching her sleep, a very rare time, I wondered why she was insomniac. She was very healthy and seemed to have no physical problems, except this one thing. I would often wake up at random times of the night and almost without fail, she would either be absent from the bed to who knows where, or sitting up, reading a book. On one account, I had woken up to find her staring at the darkness with almost soulless eyes that made me shiver. It was that one time that I had the urge to embrace her in my arms and never let her go.

In my mind though, she was perfect.

Of course, I wasn't going to be 'idiotically and naively blinded by love' as she so put it once. I knew she had flaws, flaws that she did not find the need to hide from me. That was a privilege that often made me smile. The whole world saw her as perfection as well. The perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect medic and the perfect Kunoichi.

So I deemed himself… fortunate, per se, to be able to witness her moments of weakness, as arrogant and sadistic as that sounds, it really was not. I just need to be reminded that she was also just human. A human who felt and a human with flaws.

That was something my brother could not comprehend.

When I talk with my brother about Sakura, I see the way rapture shines in his eyes as the older threw not at all exaggerated praise at her about her power and beauty. Even though the Elders forbade him from courting her, he could at least have amiable relations with her. Instead, he simply cut off almost all communications and spoke to her on a strictly professional level, something that had happened only once and that was when our esteemed father was still alive.

I don't exactly know the depths of the feelings my brother bore for her.

Her eyes fluttered open to reveal slightly mint green orbs. She blinked a few times, then those jade orbs turned to face me. There was silence between us as I continued on caressing her tenderly.

She hummed softly, "You're awake?"

"Yeah, couldn't sleep," I replied, running my fingers across her face. She leaned into my hand contentedly.

A soft giggle was emitted from her, "Looks like our roles switched," she whispered into the night.

"Yeah… it's not often that I see you sleeping so… I'm taking advantage of it, I guess."

"That must be extremely boring," she commented teasingly, then her eyes closed and nostalgia flooded her face, "Though not entirely unpleasant… knowing that someone's watching over you even as you sleep."

I chuckled and leaned forward to brush my lips over hers, "Then go back to sleep…" I trailed butterfly kisses along her jaw, her cheek, her nose and kissed each eye as they closed slowly.

"I'll always be watching over you…"

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Six months later…

The white-haired woman bounced her eleven month old baby on her knees, sitting on her home's porch. She smiled as he giggled happily. He had grown up quite a bit, his face was chubby and he had his father's pale complexion, his hair spiking up like the Uchiha she knew. It wasn't right… but it made her think about Itachi… and Sasuke. Itachi who had helped her, like the other members of Akatsuki and Sasuke, who at the very end… still counted for her.

She was lost in her memories when her husband appeared. She stood up, making sure that Kimihiro was secure on her right arm. The first thing she noticed was his tired appearance but knew that he just went for another 'talk' to his brother and the council. She knew that they were forcing him to give up his eyes for 'the better of the Uchiha Clan'. She just pretended that she knew nothing of it…

He smiled and held his arms out to his son who reciprocated the gesture. Taking him into his arms, he rocked the baby a bit.

"How was my little boy today?" he turned to give his wife a kiss, "And how are you?" he then looked around, "Where are the kids?"

"He was an angel, I'm fine and they're out in the mountains today for some personal training," she informed him. She brushed his cheek, "You look tired. What did Madara want?"

He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair, which Kimihiro tried to pull, "Yeah, a bit tired." He shifted his eyes, surefire gesture that he was about to lie to her, "Some business, nothing you would be interested in anyways."

"Ah."

She watched as Izuna began to play with their son… he had to decide now… between them and his Clan… between her… and his Clan.

"…Izuna?" she called out softly.

He turned to her expectantly, "Hm?"

"… I love you…" she whispered.

"I love you, too… more than you can ever imagine."

* * *

**A little explanation. So yeah, the "Gods" retracted the condition about kids. I thought about it a while back when I was writing it and I came out with this. I'll explain more in the next chapter since I'll more likely spoil it after.**

**Please review, it's my birthday.**


	9. Chapter 8

**I'm updating a little earlier because I probably won't be doing it until July because of exams (stupid French school system). If I'm up for it, I'll post up chapter 9 in two weeks, if not, then in July. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the songs "Amazing Grace" or "Wake me up when September ends".**

**Review replies:**

: her hair still grows normally. The pendant was exchanged for her hair since it's rare to find hair that long because it takes a long time to grow.

angel897: I hope I'm not getting too predictable! ;)

redrose3443: Though I can't say or promise who she'll end up with (since this is a MultiSaku), I can very well put in some fluff, moments, etc. for Minato and Itachi. :)

ollibaz9: the deal has changed, yes. The consequences of that are still to come.

**If anyone would like to suggest some couples you'd like to see for Naruto's generation, I'm all ears. And that goes , of course, for Sakura especially whether it's my Sakura or Haruno Sakura (in future chapters). **

**Thank you very much for those who reviewed, followed and favored. It keeps me from going into depression. **

**This is one of my longer chapters.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Chapter 8:

The wind started picking up and blowing grey clouds over the sky. A woman stood near the edge of her territory, looking out into nothing as the cold winter winds blew through her white hair. Her extravagant kimono in red and black was swaying along with it, revealing some porcelain white skin.

"Kaa-chan," said a voice. Akira approached her, holding in his arms his sleeping little brother, "Everyone's ready…"

Sakura turned her head a bit and smiled forlornly, "Alright… let's go then…"

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Izuna was my little brother. As you mostly know, Izuna and I were close, but not that close. For the past 24 years, Izuna and I reigned over this family, and became much closer than we ever had during our childhood. I will miss him very much.

Izuna was a very quiet person. He never liked to have anyone's attention focused on him. He was humble and kind, but for all his quiet and humble ways, he was one of the most action-packed achievers I have ever known. Izuna always did his best at everything. Especially when you realize how much he accomplished in such a little time.

It is still hard to believe that somebody who had as much potential as Izuna did can be gone now. In so many ways, Izuna was immortal to me. When I think of him, I always think of infinite existence. He was so creative, so brilliant and so alive – but quietly so. He did not need fame or fortune or recognition to know that what he was embarked upon was a good thing. He just knew.

For many of you who have ever fought beside him, you know what I mean.

And so it went with him. He was just a brilliant, quiet genius who could do anything that he chose.

Yet he was also there for his kin. I know there were so many times when each one of you found solace in Izuna's advice or help. And he was the kind of person who didn't force his ideas or thoughts on you. He just listened and made his own comment about the situation. If you chose to do something about it, that was up to you.

Without him, we will experience a great absence, whether it's on the battlefield or here, in our home. He was more than just a shinobi, he was an Uchiha.

When you think of Izuna, think still of immortality and infinity because to me, even though he died at the age of 24, he is infinitely immortal."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The funeral had lasted the whole morning, his body buried next to his parents'. The Uchiha clan members all paid their respects of course, saying consoling words to Madara. Most of them, from Izuna's generation, cousins who were close, came to the widow as well, expressing their condolences to the family Izuna left behind.

The five children stayed quiet through the whole ordeal, once in a while glancing at their mother who had an expressionless face. They understood that even though this was part of their 'plan', their mother had truly loved Izuna. Though she may not show it outwardly, she was grief-stricken.

"Why don't you go on inside? It's getting a little cold out here, I'll be there in a few minutes, okay?" she told them, her eyes staring at the Uchiha elders, followed by Madara, they were making their way towards them. They nodded and headed towards the rooms prepared for them, glancing back at their mother who greeted the old Uchihas.

Why? Why was it that she always lost the people she cared for?

Thought her children, it reminded them of Uchiha Sasuke's death as well. Only the four older ones remembered it, and though they were still little kids back then, they felt the sadness.

_The war was already ravaging the lands, and their mother was going to move them to a more secure place when one of her best friends, and one of their favorites too, came through the door silently. That in itself meant that something wasn't right. Kaa-chan was furiously packing up everything they would need in the other room still when Naruto had eerily made his way over to her, not even saying hello to us like he usually does._

_We had witnessed them talking lowly to each other, and with each passing second, their mother's face twisted into one of shock, disbelief then an unusual expressionless face. She then put her arms around her best friend… it was the first time they had ever seen the exuberant man cry._

_They watched as the two adults stood in front of a stone tablet, neither saying a word. Their mother kneeled down slowly in front of it, holding her hand out to caress the cold stone. They witnessed her head bowing down and her head shaking from side to side gently. The rain silently fell around the two who stayed there for what seemed like hours._

_Their mother lifted her head as she stood from her place, sharing an embrace with the blond as they exchanged quiet words in their despair. They saw her brush her fingers over the blond's cheeks before letting go._

_They both had looked back once at the grave before going their own ways but they heard the firm order, the voice belonging to neither of them, said by the passing wind. _

"_Stay alive."_

Only they saw the lone tear that rolled down her face silently.

Ashido stood in front of the grave and whispered to the wind as well.

"You broke your promise."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"I miss him," stated the young blond as the six children sat around a table, his head bowed down so his brothers couldn't see the tears building up in his eyes. His wolf nuzzled his hand in a sign of comfort.

It was two weeks after Izuna's death… that they truly realized that they missed him. They missed the days where he would teach them his jutsu… jutsu that they would pass onto his son, their brother. The way he would awkwardly pick out the vegetables for their dinner… the way he would try to help them even though he knew nothing of their problems… or when he would even try to amuse them.

They missed the slightly quiet presence of the man who they had hated at the beginning for unproven reasons.

Daisuke put a comforting hand on his shoulder as the younger started sobbing quietly, his wolf feeling his master's sorrow and whimpering as well.

"We do too," he said, looking up at the eldest who held Kimihiro, "We do too."

Haruki looked away, quickly brushing away some stray tears, "Yeah, he was fun to be around." He sniffled a bit, turning to Kaito who wasn't even trying to hide his tears, "Ah, don't cry so openly Kaito! It's embarrassing! You know how I get when people cry!"

Kaito wiped away his tears, "I can't help it!" he exclaimed as the tears didn't stop, "He was so nice to us…" he sniffled. Haruki sighed and tugged his brother to him as he started sobbing into his shirt.

"Aw man," he mumbled when tears started appearing on his face as well.

Soon enough, the three youngest were crying together… Daisuke turned away a bit, not wanting to get caught up in the emotion… but it was too late. He took off his glasses and took a calming breath, letting out a hollow laugh at his older brother who was looking at him.

"If you can't beat 'em, join em," he joked as he wiped his face. He then felt something touch his face. He opened his eyes to see a handkerchief handed to him by Ashido. He accepted and looked at the red-head in question as he handed Kimihiro to him. He watched as he made his way to their younger brothers, kneeling behind them and pulling them all into a hug as they cried. Their guardians looking at them and at each other sorrowfully.

"We'll all miss him…"

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The night breeze filled the mountaintop with fresh air from the south.

None of our feet made noise as the family stood on the mountain where the faces of beloved Hokage would be carved.

_Summer has come and passed  
The innocent can never last  
wake me up when September ends_

It was a moonless and cloudless night, one where the shadows reigned over the land, where you could only imagine the monsters hiding behind the darkness. The stars seemed dim, I thought, maybe they were mourning the dead as well.

_Here comes the rain again  
falling from the stars  
drenched in my pain again  
becoming who we are_

I remember…  
I remember the days of innocence and happiness…  
Days so long ago… an inexistent time…

Yet… all I could remember were those tear-filled nights and hollow laughter. All I could remember was the sore fact that the people I love will one day die. All I could remember was the feeling of utter loneliness which engulfed me when I realized that...

I was completely alone in this world.

_as my memory rests  
but never forgets what I lost  
wake me up when September ends_

Still… I live on day by day.

I looked around and nodded once. Their hands flew up into the air to let bright lanterns float off into the dark sky. I looked at the golden cylinder lantern in my hands, on the side of it was written 'Izuna'.

I took a shaky breath as tears gathered in my eyes as I whispered, "I'm letting you go, now…"

Because the hardest thing for humans to do after a special someone has died… is letting go. Letting go of the pain, the sorrow and… the guilt.

_summer has come and passed  
the innocent can never last  
wake me up when September ends_

The glowing stream of bright lanterns lit up the dark night, it symbolized to them, that there would always be hope and that there will always be pain. But you will have to… will be forced to… go on and let go of the pain of yesterday.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

One month later…

Sakura listened half-heartedly as the Elders gave their insincere condolences to her once again. They didn't really mean it since they never liked her in the first place. So she sat before them quietly.

"The situation has been changed quite a bit now. When will we be able to take Kimihiro's custody?"

The white-haired woman's head snapped up rapidly at that as she narrowed her eyes at the elders.

"Custody? Whoever said anything about taking my son's custody?" she bit out coldly.

The elders raised their eyebrows at her, looking as condescending as ever, "Why, Kimihiro is of Uchiha blood. Since there is no one who could teach him how to control his bloodline limit, it is only logical that he will live here instead of in the _wild_." They bit out as well, glaring at her, "After all, you have five others, don't you? Kimihiro would be much happier here, around his own blood."

Sakura growled, "He is my son and I will not let you take him from me," her emerald eyes flashing dangerously, her hands unconsciously gripping the hidden weapons in the sleeves of her kimono.

"We will give you all the money you require for the rest of your life," one of them offered, "And you will be able to see him whenever you like. Of course, you will have to abstain from coddling him so he will not be informed that you are his mother."

"Money has nothing to do with this!" she exclaimed indignantly, "I will repeat it once more: no one is going to take my son away from me."

The old hag in front of her lifted her chin up, looking down at her, "But he is an Uchiha! We will not let our blood run around and be given away to ones such as you!"

That was it.

Sakura gripped the poisoned senbon in her sleeve, one of her legs already bent to spring forward…

A hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the newly arrived Uchiha leader there, he squeezed her shoulder subtly, silently telling her to calm down before looking up at his Council, excusing themselves. She could do nothing but let him practically drag her out of the room and away from them.

He dragged her until they arrived at a garden… the same garden Izuna had taken her through that first night. Her anger was pushed slightly out of her mind as she took in her surroundings. She looked down onto the ground.

"You really miss him, don't you?"

She looked up at the question, the Uchiha's eyes were intently on her.

"Of course I do."

"…Izuna…" he started, "he asked… no, he demanded me to protect you. His wish was for me to protect you if anything were to happen to him." The older brother clenched his hand, "It was the first time he had ever ordered me to do something or asked something of me. He truly loved you."

"…"

"The elders are not going to let this go. They know that Kimihiro would be a great addition to our family, he's the son of Izuna, a very powerful shinobi even by Uchiha standards. They will do anything to get him. They may even go and decide to exterminate you."

"Then let them come. I am not afraid of them," she announced, "I am not going to allow them to take him away from me."

"And I will not allow you or your children to be endangered because of that. Izuna asked me to protect you and so I will. That is why… I'm asking you to marry me."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura stood quietly in her haven. The haven made by her, where her children sometimes came too, to relax, read a book and take a breather. It was the garden of her memories.

It was a place encased into the mountain where light shone through a sky roof all the way to the top of the mountain. She had dug it out so it looked like a giant bowl with the garden in the middle. Of course, the hole was concealed, but the light shone through. They called it the Moondrop.

Here was where she had started planting flowers… to remind her of her past life… the roses reminded her of Ino and her passion for love, the irises of Hinata's innocence and pureness, the Gladiolus for TenTen which represented her strength of character and faithfulness, the Hyacinth of the modest loveliness that was Temari.

In the middle, right where the light shone, there was a glistening crystal rock not unlike the Stone Memorial that once was in Konoha. Names of friends, family and heroes of that past life were carved there.

The white-haired woman then kneeled down in front of a flower bed filled with pink carnations… she gently ran her hand along its petals. These were the flowers that he had planted for her.

_Sakura looked in confusion at the new flowers that appeared in her garden. She kneeled down and touched the light pink petals which darkened slightly in the center and the borders. Her fingers lightly traced its layered petals and a small smile came on her face. The color reminded her of her hair back then. She unconsciously ran a hand through her white hair and sighed softly._

_The carnation._

_A hand gently landed on her own and she looked up into warm dark blue eyes. _

"_You like it?" he asked softly._

_She nodded, "Yes… the carnation?"_

_He smiled at her and looked at the flowers, "It reminds me of you…"_

"_How so?"_

"_Because… it's… one of the flowers of love."_

"_Flowers of love?"_

"_That's right… pink carnations…" he enlaced their fingers together, "They mean…" He paused, locking eyes with her._

"'_I will always remember you. I will always love you'. Always…"_

Her fingers brushed the newly carved name of Uchiha Izuna on the stone. Izuna had always wanted the best for her family… he wouldn't have wanted her to have the Uchiha Clan against her and put herself and her children in danger.

No, he wouldn't have wanted that.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Two months later…

The marriage went without fault. Heads, Daimyo and others were invited and wished the new Patriarch and Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan success.

Sakura sat there looking like the perfect bride once again. Her children were sitting quietly on a table a few feet away from them. They had taken the news well, since they knew that something was to be done. They weren't the kids they were five years ago when their mother had announced her marriage to Izuna. But they were willing to give Madara a chance… because they learned that not all Uchiha were bad… and maybe… just maybe, if he had their mother next to him, they could stop the horrible future that had awaited them the last time.

Everyone deserves a second chance.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Mito approached the white-haired woman who sat down in the garden, taking a break from the festivities. Sakura looked up at her arrival and gave a small smile.

"This must be hard for you, Sakura-chan…"

The said woman just laughed bitterly, "You must be thinking less of me right now."

"Why would I? I think I know why you did this… it's what any mother would have done, Sakura-chan…" she put her arms around the older woman. "You must be going through such a hard time right now…"

Sakura shook her head lightly form side to side and let out a hollow laugh.

"It's not anything new to me."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

**Insomniac**

There are some nights when  
sleep plays coy,  
aloof and disdainful.  
And all the wiles  
that I employ to win  
its service to my side  
are useless as wounded pride,  
and much more painful.

-Maya Angelou

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The beautiful woman stared at the ceiling aimlessly, her mind drifting in and out of sleep… Izuna had always berated her on that… but she couldn't help it. If she closed her eyes… she would be submerged with memories.

Painful past memories… so she chose to stay in the world of consciousness, her body was already used to the abuse.

She was shaken from her drifting when an arm slung itself across her abdomen. She turned her head and was met with midnight blue eyes on an aristocratic face.

"Did I wake you?" she whispered.

"...Izuna told me about your insomnia," he stated, ignoring her question, "He was always worried about you."

"…"

"He also told me that you would always sneak away at midnight to smoke outside. That you would talk with your guardian until morning. Then, when he woke up, breakfast would be already served with you smiling. In the evenings, when he came home, you would welcome him, dinner would be prepared by the both of you and you would eat with the kids… then you would always check them when it was time to sleep, making sure the protective seals on their rooms were working."

"…"

"He knew that there was a high chance of him dying… so he made me promise to keep you happy, so he told me all that. Because he loved you that much…"

"He loved you and the Clan as well. He had also made me promise to take care of you in his place."

"…Tell me, Sakura... did you only agree to this… for Izuna … and for your son's sake?"

"…Do you want the truth?"

There was a tense silence.

"Lie to me," he whispered in her ear, looking at her expressionless eyes which gave nothing away, "Lie to me…"

"I only did this for Izuna and Kimihiro's sake."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

One year later…

Sakura sat on the chair, trying to put her newborn to sleep. She stroked his dark hair and brushed her fingers lightly over his chubby cheeks. He reacted and started crying.

"Shush, you'll wake everyone up," she murmured to him but still with a smile, standing up and bouncing him in her arms. She looked out the small window; it was two in the morning at the most. She looked down at him, "You're being quite the handful, little Hayato, your brothers never woke up this early," she mused. She then sighed, "Well, at least you'll keep me company for a while."

Fifteen minutes later, the little one was fast asleep, finally succumbing to his tiredness. She put him gently in the crib, tucking him in and with that, she left the room. Since Madara was not just anyone, they had to move into the Uchiha compound, a whole sector was cleared just for them. She quietly opened the door to the next room, peering inside where her three year old lay tangled in his sheets. Checking the three rooms after, Akira, Haruki and Kaito were soundly sleeping as well. It was when she came to the rooms of her two oldest that she paused.

They weren't there.

She turned her head towards the general direction of their home and with a simple hand sign, she disappeared in a flurry of shadows. She reappeared a few meters away from her house, where the lights were on. Approaching it, she saw Ashido sitting on the porch, one knee bent and the other dangling from the wooden floor. He looked up as he felt her presence.

"Quite the early birds, aren't we?" she asked, smiling at him.

He smiled back, "Yeah, a client came to Daisuke about half an hour ago." He motioned over to the back, "They're still out back if you want to catch them."

"Oh no, I don't want to disturb. It's his client after all," she took a seat next to her fourteen year old. Her heart warmed at the thought that her oldest had decided to sacrifice sleep time just so he could accompany his brother in case any danger came.

"He's really meant to be doing this, right?" the red-head asked his mother.

She hummed thoughtfully, "I suppose. He thinks that it was just chance that he got the powers, but…"

"But you think that it was his choice, right? Hitsuzen."

"Hai, Hitsuzen."

"Nee, Kaa-chan… what's going to happen if… if Madara still becomes the person we knew?" he asked.

Sakura stayed silent for a while, "Then we'll have no choice but to exterminate him. The Madara we knew was dangerous. Not even the Kages were able to beat him. He… the only person who he ever even considered a rival was the First Hokage. But, our coming here changes things… we can't predict what's going to happen any longer. I believe that at the point we are now… everything has changed in the future. Whether it's good or bad… we'll have to wait and see."

She turned to him with a smile, "But until then, let's just live. I'm grateful that Daisuke could take over the shop during the day, but he doesn't have to do it at night." She frowned, "You two should be sleeping."

Ashido chuckled, "Yeah, we should, but you shouldn't be here either. Anyways, Daisuke loves this. He… He really wants to help you, maybe that's why his name means 'Great Help'. He just wants to make things easier for you, Kaa-chan, we all do." He smiled up at her, "So won't you let us repay you for the things you've done for us? Isn't it just equivalent exchange?"

"You're too smart for your own good sometimes," she stated, then turned, "You both are," she addressed her second eldest. Daisuke smiled at her, in his hand a paper fan.

"Good morning, Kaa-chan," he greeted as he stood in front of her.

She put a hand on his head, "Not too tired?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine." Then he held out his hand, offering the fan to her.

Sakura took it gently, it was made of bamboo intertwined together and painted beautifully with a dragon. "Wow, this must have cost quite a bit… I can practically feel the price of this fan."

The bespectacled twelve-year old nodded, "The spirit wanted me to find a suitable body for it to inhabit," he scratched his head, "Maybe I should've sent this one to you."

"No. You have to learn to make your own decisions and fix the problem yourself. The spirit came to you didn't it?" The boy was about to object that it was because he told them to consult him instead of their busy mother, but Sakura put up her hand, "If they came to you, that means that they didn't need me and that they knew that you could do it."

She stood up, "Now let's get back before someone notices." The boys nodded in agreement as they flitted away.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

After bidding her two children a good rest and telling them to sleep as long as they wanted, she wandered towards her baby's room where she felt another presence. Since the protective seal didn't alert her to any danger, it must've meant that the person currently in the room was the baby's father. Entering the room, she saw the long-haired Uchiha looking over the crib. He lifted his head up upon her arrival.

He frowned, "Where were you?"

"My house, I had some business over there," she explained, making her way towards him.

The Uchiha shook his head from side to side, "When Izuna told me that you had a lot of secrets, he wasn't exaggerating." He caught her lips in a kiss, pulling her towards him at the same time. "Come, let's go to bed," he murmured against her lips.

With one final check on her baby, she let herself be dragged towards their room where he started ravaging her.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura watched as Madara trained with Kimihiro, his Sharingan already beginning to develop well enough. She was sitting on the wooden floor, leading to the training yard, her hand twitched to the kiseru sitting next to her… but then sighed mournfully as she put a hand to her swollen stomach.

Just a little while longer…

It had been two years already since she had married Madara. All throughout those years, she had been working in the shadows behind her husband. He told her of the plans of the Uchiha Clan, those usually involving the outside but never on the Uchihas' personal affairs, getting her insight on things and even using some of her ideas. But she knew that he didn't quite trust her enough.

No, he may have feelings for her… but his feelings wouldn't blind him enough to trust her completely. He was wary, if anything else. The secrets her family harbored were well locked up and though he didn't like it, he had to accept nonetheless…

It showed from that very first day they met… that she was more than what people believed she was. To outsiders, she was the Uchiha Matriarch, a brilliant medic and a doting mother. But he knew more than that.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Sakura will be coming with me."

All heads turned to the Clan head, even the person whose name was just pronounced looked up at him in confusion.

The elder frowned, "_Her_? Madara-sama, this is very important, you will be fighting alongside… those _Senju_," the name was spit out like it was poison in their mouths, "Even though you will be fighting against the same opponents this time, who knows, they may turn against you. I suggest taking more of our… _suitable_ clan members, some who _won't_ get in your way, Madara-sama."

The said man glared at them, "My decision is clear, I will take Sakura and no one else."

"But, she is nothing but a medic! What use would she be!" they cried out.

His strong hands went down on the table with a 'bang', "Are you defying my decisions? You are my council and you will only give advice when I ask for it."

"My word is absolute."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"What are you thinking?" the white-haired woman asked, holding her baby in her arm, quieting him down.

Madara looked down into the crib where another little person lay, this one looking up at him in wonder. He picked him up in his hands, "I'm thinking that I've had enough of people assuming things about you, Sakura."

He held the baby at arm's length, seemingly inspecting him, then pulled him close, resting his chin lightly on the baby's head, "People think you're just a medic and a mother." He turned to her, "But I know you're not just a medic or just a mother. You have power, Sakura. And I want to show that to the world."

The woman walked over to him gracefully, standing straight in front of him while their twins looked at each other from their parents' arms.

"What will that bring you?" she asked, looking straight in his eyes.

"Uchihas do not choose their partners easily, the partner must be to their level. That is why we have intermarriages, as in most noble Clans. This family doubts you, Sakura. They think you are too weak."

"So you want to prove them wrong."

"So I _will_ prove them wrong."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The Uchiha couple raced through the trees at an unimaginable speed as they made their way to the meeting point. Madara wore his battle gear which resembled those of the Samurai, the giant Uchiha fan strapped onto his back brought to attention to the fact that he was the clan head. Next to him, seemingly floating, was his wife. She was wearing a short black and red kimono that ended mid-thigh, matching her husband. The sleeves practically hid her hands save her fingers and wore black shorts that ended above her knees. Her hair was styled up into a series of loops, two hairpins sticking out from it on the right side.

They soon arrived at the meeting point where there were already a dozen of shinobi. The opponents they were going to be fighting were from a village nearby, they were smuggling children. Normally, it wouldn't be any of their business but unfortunately, they had succeeded in capturing a few of their own. Thus was the implication of the Senju and the Uchiha Clans.

Hashirama looked up at them in surprise when they arrived, the squad behind him also looking at them with wide eyes.

"Uchiha-san," he greeted, going over, followed closely by his younger brother who frowned upon seeing them. He turned to the Matriarch and gave her a smile, "Sakura-san, what a pleasant surprise. Are you here to heal the injured?"

Madara scoffed, "Heal the injured? No, on the contrary, she's here to kill," he countered bluntly.

At that Hashirama's eyes widened a bit, "I see… are there… only the two of you?" he asked uncertainly, glancing behind them for other Uchiha Clan members.

"Of course," was the blunt answer he got, as if it was the obvious answer to a stupid question.

The Senju Clan head pursed his lips, "I think it's safer to not underestimate our opponents-

"I am not underestimating them, Senju," the Uchiha clan head interrupted, "I'm actually quite overestimating them by coming with my wife. If I was underestimating them, I would've brought a dozen of the clan members instead."

His statement greatly insinuated that the woman he brought with him had as much power than twelve Uchiha.

"Alright then, since we're all here, we can start. There will be three groups, one who will 'take care' of the ones inside the village, another will be rescuing the children and any others and one will ensure that the borders of the village are secure so we won't be getting any surprise attacks."

"I'll take on the surprises," exclaimed Sakura, shocking everyone.

"Group 3?" Hashirama asked.

She smiled, "Hai," she turned to Tobirama, "You won't mind rescuing the children, right?"

The Senju shook his head, "No, I don't mind."

Sakura smiled, "Alright then," she turned her emerald eyes to the north side, "Because they're coming." The men watched as the woman walked gracefully ahead of them.

"Rakuen."

The white wolf appeared beside her, grinning in his wolf form, scratching his claws impatiently on the dirt ground. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" he chuckled darkly, looking up at his mistress.

"Yes, it has," she agreed, stretching her arms, giving him an almost dark smile, "Let's get going then."

"Hai."

With that, the pair disappeared. The men in her squad stood there for a minute more until they realized that they were supposed to be following her.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The village smelled of blood. The children had been rescued and the culprits killed. The fight had lasted two hours, neither resting nor really taking time to breathe. That in itself was surprising since a wave of them had come for reinforcements thirty minutes into the fight…

Then they suddenly stopped.

They soon figured out why when they made their way to the northern border where the Uchiha Matriarch was. Madara had not been exaggerating when he had said that his wife had the power of twelve Uchihas. Upon arriving, they stared wide-eyed at the pile of bodies lying in the area.

The three powerful men looked around until they found the men from the squad. The four were visibly shaken, staring wide-eyed at the scene.

"What happened, did you do all this?" asked Hashirama.

One of them looked up and gulped, he slowly shook his head, "We didn't do anything… nothing at all. This…" he gestured to the purgatory, "Was all Uchiha Sakura-sama's doing," he all but whispered.

Everyone was silent as they took the information in.

"Where is she?" Madara asked.

"She went further up north…" was the answer.

With that, Madara started running towards the said direction. Hashirama patted the shinobi on the shoulder, "Head straight back home, alright? We'll catch up later." He turned to his brother who was staring in the direction where Madara left. "Let's go and see if she's okay."

They found the two Uchihas a kilometer away a few seconds later. Madara was standing a few meters away from the white-haired woman who stood in the middle of bodies.

They visibly shivered when she turned to them. She was different. Her eyes, usually so expressive and light were cold and jaded, completely emotionless. Bits of blood was splattered on her right cheek and dripping from her bangs. She lifted her hand up and brushed away the blood from the hem of her kimono as if it were dust.

And that was how Uchiha Sakura was known as the Cruel Angel.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura smiled and cooed at her two boys, "Did you miss Kaa-chan, Kousuke-kun? Kohaku-kun?" she asked the two, lightly pinching their chubby cheeks. She leaned back and just looked with gentle eyes at her twins. It was a surprise for her that she got them, after all, not many were twins, if none at all, in the Uchiha Clan.

But it mattered little.

Sakura went over to the other crib to look at her napping two-year old. Then she looked down when her little five-year old tugged at her kimono sleeve, "Ah, Kimihiro…" she greeted then her smile faded a bit as she saw the near-tears and pouting face of her son. She immediately kneeled in front of him, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

His big green eyes looked down and he shook his little head, "No, Kaa-sama…" Sakura pausing in brushing his head at the very formal suffix, "Jii-sama… he…" then he touched his cheek where Sakura saw that a bruise was forming.

The white-haired vixen quickly stood up, her eyes narrowing dangerously, "Stay here and watch your brothers a while, honey, Kaa-chan has to talk to your uncle." With that, she marched out of the nursery.

Pinpointing where his chakra was, she dissolved into shadows and reappeared right in front of him as he was about to punch a dummy. She easily caught his fist and held it there. Madara regarded her with some prudency, knowing the look on her face meant nothing good.

"You dare hit my son?" she bit out, her hand starting to squeeze his fist a little.

He let out a grunt, "He could have dodged it, and if he hadn't been messing up the whole morning, none of this would've happened!" He exclaimed as if all was the toddler's fault.

The woman's eyes narrowed at her husband, "He's five years old… he's not a machine… nor one of those so-called Uchiha tools," she growled, "He's my son. And though you are his uncle, and step-father, I will not let you lay a hand on him." Her hand tightened around his fist and they both heard the distinct sound of bones starting to crack.

Madara pulled his hand away and this time, Sakura let him, he growled at her, "He's not my son, yes, but he's of Uchiha blood. And all Uchihas obey to me, I am their leader. But if you insist," he said, tilting his chin up, "I will go find solace in my direct blood then, since my nephew cannot reach my expectations."

With that, Madara turned away, leaving her glaring at his back.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Kaa-chan… Hayato, Kousuke and Kohaku are your children, too. I say we let them choose who they prefer, you or Madara," Daisuke said as he sat next to his mother. The said woman was sitting on the porch of their home in the mountains, with the twins in each of her arms and Hayato in Daisuke's lap, bouncing him up and down.

"It's not that simple, I'm afraid," she started, watching with fondness as Ashido helped Kimihiro with his fire bending, Kaito was close by to make sure neither of them got hurt while Haruki and Akira were sparring a good distance away. "The council let me keep Kimihiro and get married to Madara because I could give him a strong heir. That's what I did. And now, Madara of course, with his head of the clan pride, wants his son to excel at an impossible rate for a child. I will not allow that however."

Daisuke looked down at his little dark blue haired brother with ebony eyes, "Kimihiro's already chosen you, that's for sure… but this little one…" he turned to the twins, "And those two… what if they side with their father? And by the way things are going… Madara may still walk the same path as last time."

Sakura sighed and looked up into the clear sky, "Not 'may'… it's certain that he will take the same path."

"Why?"

"Hashirama Senju came by yesterday… with a peace contract… needless to say, he was less than happy about it."

"… What did he decide?"

"The Clan and I persuaded him to accept."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Our idea was, with your Clan's help, to build a shinobi village," said Hashirama, sitting in front of the two heads of the Uchiha Clan. His wife Mito was next to him, sitting opposite of the Uchiha matriarch; their son and daughter off to the left side of the room. Ashido and Daisuke were also present, sitting on the right side of the room, facing the Senju children.

"That's quite the project," Sakura commented, her husband didn't say anything.

"It is, but I think it's time we came out of this era of continuous wars and into one of peace," the man said, his wife nodding along.

"And what exactly do you need from us?" Madara asked haughtily.

"Well, we'll need as much manpower as possible. After all, it's a village, not an estate. We'll be calling the help of other clans as well of course."

"And for every village, there needs to be a leader, will there not?" he asked and Sakura glanced at the man next to her, aware of what was to come.

Hashirama chuckled politely, "Well, yes, I suppose, but I think that's the last thing we should be thinking about right now."

"I agree," Sakura spoke up, "Well then, we'll…" she paused, "I will be happy to lend a hand when it is possible."

"Ah, don't tire yourself out with that, Sakura-san, you already have your hands full do you not?" Mito asked amusedly, "Two at a time must've been very hard to deal with, god knows I already have loads of trouble with one!" she exclaimed, trying to lighten up the mood.

The white-haired woman followed, "Indeed, but the number really matters little to me, I love them all the same."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

It was the evening of that day that Sakura put on her mourning kimono. It was pitch black, from the body to the obi. Like most of her kimono, it showed her long slender legs, but this time, she wore thigh-high black stockings to hide them.

She was putting on the last of her make-up when her husband came in. He stared at her for a moment.

"Where are you going?" he questioned, noting the dark shade of her kimono.

Her green eyes looked up, "Visiting some old friends," she whispered quietly, which Madara took into account and concluded of the state of these 'friends'. She stood up, "Please keep an eye on our children."

The head's eyes narrowed at the use of 'our' children, "You're taking yours?"

"And Kimihiro," she added, knowing that he considered the eldest Uchiha as his own son and not just his nephew at times.

He nodded and watched her as she approached him. Leaning up, she brushed her light pink lips against his, her hands on his chest to support her.

"We won't be long," she murmured into the kiss and posed her feet back down. As she was retracting her hands, he held onto them, putting them back against his chest. She looked up at him questioningly. He seemed to be debating about whether or not to talk and in the end, he just let go of her hands, brushing his fingers over her knuckles almost tenderly.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Kimihiro's P.O.V

Kaa-chan kneeled down in front of the Memorial Stone as we picked flowers around the cave. I saw her smile sadly.

I had been here a few times before, I would come here, with my brothers once a year, pick flowers and put them around the pretty Stone in the middle of Kaa-chan's secret garden. It seems like it's a very special place for her and a very special day. When I had asked Ashi-nii why we came here every year, he just answered.

"We come here to give respect to heroes, who died a long time ago."

Then I asked why Kaa-chan looked so sad whenever we came here, to which he answered.

"Because those heroes were part of Kaa-chan's family."

He did not need to tell me that my father was part of that… because I knew.

After that, I continued on picking flowers and I could hear Kaa-chan whispering into the wind. I knew that the others heard as well, but did nothing to show that they heard the words their mother spoke.

"Can you believe it's been decade already? Time passes by so fast… I've met so many people… I have a beautiful family… but it's not the same without you. It will never be the same without all of you in my life and now more than ever.

I don't think I need to say this… but I miss you."

I've never seen Kaa-chan as sorrowful and as… fragile… than when we come here. I was sure though, that Kaa-chan came here regularly, since the place was filled with particles of her warm chakra, keeping the flowers safe. I also knew that my older brothers knew a lot more than the information they gave me…

But it was okay.

They have a reason to keep it from me, but I never once needed to ask more about it, because I trusted them.

A beautiful sound then echoed through the mountain, like an angel's voice.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound  
That saved a wretch like me.  
I once was lost, but now I'm found.  
'Twas blind, but now I see.  
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear  
And grace my fears relieved.  
How precious did that grace appear  
The hour I first believed.  
When we've been there ten thousand years  
Bright shining as the sun,  
We've no less days to sing God's praise  
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound  
That saved a wretch like me.  
I once was lost, but now I'm found.  
Was blind, but now I see."

As Kaa-chan sang that sad, melancholic song, even though I did not really understand what she was singing about…

I cried.

Just like my brothers who were shedding tears, some more openly than others, but they were crying nonetheless, as if we were at a funeral.

Maybe it was.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

A few months later…

Sakura's flowing leaf green kimono billowed in the night wind and brushed her hair back as she closed her eyes. Taking a breath, she slowly took a step, then another… until she was leisurely walking down the dirt road, her eyes still closed.

She stopped.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at the familiar Hokage Tower. The building wasn't the one with the peeling paint and the small cracks of age yet… it wasn't the building she used to run to in the morning when she was Tsunade's apprentice… or the one she saw crumble to ruins.

She turned and looked at all the new buildings… some familiar, ones that had survived all the perilous wars… and others she had never seen but she remembered what used to be there… no… what will be there.

This was Konoha… yet not her Konoha.

It wouldn't be the Konoha where she grew up… not the Konoha she once lived for… nor the Konoha she saw getting consumed by the flames of hell itself.

But it was going to be the Konoha she loved. It was going to be the Konoha she protected… and it will be the Konoha… where all those she loved would live, maybe not peacefully… but happily.

She was going to make sure that this Konoha… would not fall to the same fate as her beloved Konoha did…

She promised.

* * *

**So that's that. I killed off poor Izuna-kun and now she's married to Madara. We're slowly starting off the canon timeline with Konoha's apparition and I do hope you will all follow and review me for the coming chapters. **

**By the way, I did not write the eulogy. I simply took an example online and changed it to match. I immediately took it once I saw the "eternal" parts.**

Here's a recap of the ages and some additional info:

Sakura - 33  
Ashido - 14  
Daisuke - 13  
Haruki/Kaito - 12  
Akira - 11  
Hashirama - 26  
Tobirama - 23  
Madara - 26  
Izuna - 24 (deceased)  
Mito - 29

I haven't said why I chose the names so I'll just put them here:

Ashido - I don't really know what it means, I just love the name  
Daisuke - Great Help (because of his role in the story)  
Haruki - Haru: spring/sun/sunlight; ki: shine/life  
Kaito - kai: ocean/sea; to: fly/soar  
Akira - bright/clear  
Kimihiro - Kimi: humanity/virtue/benevolence (like his father) and hiro: ocean  
Hayato - falconer (I chose this for the eldest son because on Narutopedia it is said Madara's hobby is falconry)  
Kousuke - Kou: inlet/bay suke: clear/help  
Kohaku - amber (for the twins, I chose Kohaku first and I thought that an alliteration would be nice and I found Kousuke)


	10. Chapter 9

**Here's a quick little update because I'm feeling happy today. It's not that action-packed or long but it has a lot of MadaSaku fluff for those who like him. :)**

**Review replies:**

**First of all thank you for those who reviewed me, it keeps me very happy.**

**LeonaMasha: Yes, I was sad I had to kill off Izuna. All her children will play roles in the future, I try to give all my OC the attention they need. As for the elders, well, it's kind of something you always see in fics and I personally like how they are portrayed. There wouldn't be much internal conflict for the clans if the elders were all generous and happy, now would there? Plus, it's a natural reaction for people looking out for their clans to be judgmental to strangers like Sakura.**

**amathor: I've never tried my hand at KakaSaku to be honest, but I can try. GaaSaku is a must and I might be able to squeeze it in in later chapters maybe. :) And I know it has a lot of plotholes, while working on this story, I had so many ideas shooting from my head that in the end, they all ended up being squished together, none of them fully complete and others in conflict with each other. :P**

**Thank you for everyone's support!**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Chapter 9:

Ashido stared as the Senju head, with one hand seal, he was able to make rise from the dirt ground a two-story building made of wood. "Interested in my wood release?" asked Hashirama once he made sure that it was sturdy.

The sixteen-year old nodded, "Yes…" he then tapped his foot onto the ground, "I'm amazed at how solid the foundation you made for the village is…" he smirked, "My mother sends her compliments."

Hashirama chuckled, "Well, thank you. I'm hoping that it will last for the future generations." He then turned to the young man, "You and your brothers will be moving here with your mother and the Uchiha Clan, I presume?"

Ashido paused, his eyes drifting to somewhere behind him, "I guess… but not for long anyways," he mumbled quietly. The brown-haired man turned to him, not sure if he was hearing things and was about to ask but was interrupted.

"Hashirama!" called Tobirama as he approached them, "Ashido-kun."

"Tobirama-san," he greeted back, "I should get going now. It was nice talking to you, Hashirama-san." With that, he bowed and started walking towards the general direction of the mountain.

"…What's wrong?" Tobirama asked when Hashirama continued on staring at the boy.

"Nothing really…" he shook his head, "Just thinking that Sakura-san isn't the only one who's mysterious."

The white-haired man looked up at the red-haired boy who was joined by his younger brother. The said younger bespectacled brother turned to them, stared at them for a second before smiling and waving a bit. They returned the wave.

"No, the whole family seems to be hiding a secret."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The village was starting to get populated as merchants came to reside in it and clans were invited. Of course, throughout the short time of its construction (thanks to jutsu mostly), some had already claimed their place and had helped with the inauguration.

And so came the day when a leader was to be assigned.

By the rules of democracy, the one with the majority of votes wins. There were six ballots in the room, all protected by a seal from an impartial party: some of the daimyo's politicians.

"Is everyone here?" the high-pitched man asked, a parchment in his hands. He pushed up his glasses and looked around, ticking off the names in his head. There were the Senju, Hashirama, Mito and Tobirama; then the four noble clans of Konoha, the clans who had helped in the construction of the village: the Uchiha, with the couple Madara and Sakura, of course; the Inuzuka with Kiba and Toboe; the Aburame with Tetsuya and Kiku and the Hyuuga with Hideaki and Natsume.

The six ballots had already been accounted for: five for the five clans present and one for the villagers. The spokesman cleared his throat, "The votes have been rounded up and the majority has the vote, which means that for each clan, the one with the majority of votes will represent the whole clan regardless of whomever other they voted for."

He roved his eyes through the stoic clan heads, "Well then… the villagers have chosen… Hashirama Senju." He paused and stared at the said man a while before continuing down the list, "The Inuzuka have chosen… Uchiha Madara." At this, the Uchiha smirked, "The Uchiha of course chose Madara and the Senju have chosen Hashirama. That makes two votes for each. Then… we have the Aburame… they have chosen the Senju." He paused and looked at the Hyuuga couple carefully.

"…Senju."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Calm yourself!" the white-haired woman exclaimed to her seething husband.

He turned to her, glaring, "Calm? How can I be calm when they've obviously made the wrong choice! They'll never be the most powerful village if their leader is a peace-loving incompetent fool!"

Sakura continued on brushing her hip-length hair, watching the Uchiha pace around their room from his reflection on the mirror.

"… This Clan will not stand for it. With the right motivation, we could take control of the village," he said.

The woman stopped brushing her hair and slowly put the brush down, "They will not stand with you, Madara."

The said man glared at her through the mirror, "And why is that, my dear wife?" he asked sarcastically.

She stood up and faced him, "Because they're happy. They've learned what peace was, especially with the flourishing village. They won't allow you to destroy that. After all, it was them, and not only me, who forced you to accept the peace treaty between the Uchiha and the Senju."

He scowled at her, "Then I'll find another way myself."

She walked over to him, stopping a few centimeters away, looking up into his swirling Sharingan, "I won't allow you to do that either."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The couple's relationship had been stagnant since then, the majority of the Uchiha were behind Sakura, who kept them calm and at bay of Madara's plans. The Clan leader seemed to be cutting himself off from the said Clan, only coming to meetings when it was necessary, almost leaving the duty of leader to his wife, much to the irritation of the Elders.

"…by doing this, the Clan will be able to keep more interest and spend less. Of course, this requires manual labor, something that…" she smirked, "I am sure is going to be a piece of cake for the Clan's… highly skilled members."

They hated her… but they had to admit that her way of thinking was ingenious and highly profitable to the Clan.

The three eldest talked in hushed voices on their 'pedestals' before turning back to stare at her, "Fine. We will get some people to work on that," they acquiesced.

Sakura nodded and with a mock bow, she left the room to leave them to their criticizing and scrutinizing of her plans behind her back. They really were hopeless. Making her way towards their wing, she passed by the vacant rooms with a small smile. They had decided to go train as a group, with the wolves of course, to hone their skills. She had been quite reluctant to let them go but after thinking of her own training regimen, she had let them.

She was going towards her shared room with Madara, whom she hasn't seen in over a month since their argument. She stopped in her tracks though as her head began to spin. Holding onto the wall to stay balanced, she put a hand up to her head. Her heart started thumping loudly in her chest and her breathing became labored.

Taking deep calming breaths, she cursed as she remembered the exact same sensation at that party so long ago. In a few minutes, her mind would be fogged up and she would probably lose consciousness.

True to her predictions, she started seeing spots in her vision and felt her body weakening and numbing. She barely felt herself hitting the shiny wooden floor.

It then felt like déjà vu once more as she saw Madara rounding the corner, running to her and probably asking her what was wrong before calling for a doctor. His Sharingan red eyes spinning as they regarded her.

Then darkness.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Madara stood agitatedly outside the shoji doors, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He had been on his way back from his… planning… when he saw his wife. Not wanting another confrontation with the equally stubborn woman, he had decided to come back later, but then, she had collapsed.

His blood red eyes never moved as the doors were carefully opened and the doctor came out with a less than pleasant expression on his face. He was middle-aged, well versed in the medical arts, not as much as Sakura, of course, but a veteran at the least. For his age, he was well off though, still had a head of black hair and an uncommon fluffy moustache (for it was considered a bit unorthodox to have facial hair these days).

He approached his leader with a solemn face, getting right to the point, knowing that he was at his nerve's end, "Sakura-sama is expecting again."

Madara's brows creased as he took in the information. He knew that something was wrong then, since the doctor didn't congratulate him nor had a pleasant expression on.

"What's wrong with her?"

The doctor sighed, "She's having some internal problems. I have been informed that before, she could not bear any children. Her first, I heard, was a month late and the twins took a lot out of her," he began, "It seems that now though, her body has not quite recovered from the birthing of four children…"

The man scowled ever so slightly, urging him to go on, "And what exactly does that mean?"

"I'm afraid that having this baby may be dangerous for Sakura-sama. Her body is by no means weak, but it's become vulnerable. The worst case scenario would be for her to lose her life because of it," he informed.

"So what do you suggest?"

"…Well… for her safety and well being… I would recommend… not bearing the child." He shifted his eyes, "But Sakura-sama has refused this proposal." He looked up at the husband hopefully.

Madara nodded, understanding, "Thank you, you may leave." With a bow, the man went his way, disappearing around the corner.

With that, he stepped forward and with just as much care as the doctor did, slid the doors open, entered and closed it in the same fashion. The red satin curtains that were for decoration around their bed were drawn shut, concealing the woman inside. Walking over to it, he parted the curtain with one hand, peeking inside.

She was on her side, facing away from him, a thin blanket draped over her form as she had changed into a bleach white sleeping kimono. He stood there, immobile for a few moments, just staring at her form. Holding back a sigh, he moved away to change into more comfortable attire for sleeping.

Going back to the bed, he climbed in and with a slightly annoyed look, gripped her forearms and pulled her up to his side so that her head was lying on his chest. He heard a small growl coming from her at being manhandled.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, his voice not showing any emotion.

He felt her tense, "I'm keeping this child," she replied.

"At the cost of your own life?"

There was a silence.

In a fell swoop, he had her pinned down on the bed, his eyes fierce and hard as he looked her into the eyes. Those emerald eyes that looked up at him unafraid and confident.

He knew… he knew that she would not let go of the child. Their child.

"…One month." He bowed his head and rested it on her shoulder, letting his hair tickle her neck, "If you show any signs of it going bad…" he did not continue the promise.

She did not nod nor make any signs of approval.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, breathing in the fresh air and the smell of flowers. She leaned against the door tiredly.

"You shouldn't be up, yet," his deep voice came from behind her.

Sighing, she turned around and looked at the man who was holding a bundle in his arms. He approached her, handling the baby with a care that she had never seen before in the man.

She looked down into the bundle and pale red, almost a dark pink, contrasted with the dark blankets around him.

Kazue.

He was born prematurely at seven months. But he had survived the harsh winter into which he was born and though still smaller than average, was in good health. For that, Sakura was grateful. Unfortunately, it left her bedridden for a week, her body greatly weakened and her immune system taking a hit as well.

She smiled and Madara handed her the baby. Cooing at him, she marveled at his hair color, a dark pink that went beautifully with his green eyes. He was the odd one out, so to say. Hayato took mostly from his father, from the midnight hair to the obsidian eyes. The twins also took after their father's hair but their eyes were a dark forest green. This one took most after her with light green eyes and pale red hair.

She slowly made her way deeper into the room, clutching at her kimono and berating herself for looking so weak. Especially in front of someone like him. She was glad that her son was in good health, even if it was at the price of her own. But…

What does he think of her?

She watched as the father walked around the room, still looking and watching their son who was back in his arms. Settling into her bed, she though back to when Hayato was born.

As his first heir, Madara had showered him with affection and attention. He spent the majority of his free time with Hayato before the building of Konoha commenced. Then came the twins; he paid less attention to them. Maybe it was from the situation they were in back then, or just that he didn't really find the need to dote on them since they were not going to succeed him. He gave them the minimum attention a father gives to his children…

So why was he so taken with this one?

Kazue was the youngest, in addition to that, he was still considered a sickly child and he was so different from his kin with his diverse coloring and resemblance to her.

She just couldn't understand.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

When she woke up, not even knowing when she fell asleep, she reeled in surprise to find a shock of red hair next to her bed.

"…Mito?"

The woman smiled and nodded, sitting down on the edge facing her, "How are you feeling?"

The white-haired woman blinked, "Fine, I suppose. Not that it's not a pleasure to see you but… what are you doing here?"

The Uzumaki gave her a secretive smile, "Your husband called us over. We heard that you weren't doing too well these days."

"We?"

As if on cue, Hashirama slipped in through the door and closed it, turning to the two women, "Ah, you're awake, good morning, Sakura. How are you feeling?" he approached the bed and Mito scooted over so that he could stand between the two. His hands hovered over her form and glowed green. Sakura relished in the warmth of healing chakra gently seeping into her skin and running along her body for a full scan. "It looks like a common fever, nothing to worry about," he said, more to his wife than to Sakura who already knew that.

Mito pouted, "I was just worried. I mean, wouldn't you be worried if her husband sends a message to come here as soon as we could?"

"…Madara did?" she asked, not believing it.

Mito turned to her and smiled, "Yes, a messenger came by our place last night, requesting that we come and check up on you."

"You both?"

Hashirama chuckled, "He mentioned the 'Senju'. I believe he was thinking that you were feeling lonely and you didn't need a medic as much as a friend. I'm just here to make sure you're alright. Mito's the one who's been franticly worried all night and demand we depart early in the morning." The couple shared a glance, "Well, I think I'm going to go check on Kazue, I just gave him some vitamins; he and Madara should still be in the nursery. I'll just leave you two ladies to talk." With that, the Senju patriarch left.

There was a moment of silence after he left.

"…Did he really ask for you?"

Mito sighed in exasperation, "Yes! He did, Sakura." Her eyes softened, "He's really worried about you, you know." She looked towards the door pensively, "You know… since you fell ill, he wouldn't let anyone see you."

Sakura looked up at that, "What do you mean?"

"After we had heard you were having problems, we had planned on visiting you… but Madara didn't let us. He wanted you to rest as long as possible and now that I think about it, seeing us wouldn't have really made a difference if not tire you out… He's spending a lot of time with Kazue… right?"

"Yes, he is…" a small frown marred her face, "I just don't understand why he's investing himself so much."

Mito wanted to facepalm, "You really didn't notice, did you?"

"…"

The younger woman sighed, "He's spending time with Kazue… because he knows that you need time to recover, to rest and to relax. He knows that if you take care of the baby… you will think of nothing but him and forget that you, too, are sick. He wants to make sure you have a full recovery as well." Mito took the other woman's face in her hands.

"He really loves you, Sakura. He really does. If he didn't… he wouldn't have let Hashirama check his son, he wouldn't even have opened the gates for us! That's the Madara I knew. The Madara I knew before you came."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The Senju couple departed in the evening, not able to stay longer because of their duties at their home and running the village. Of which Madara was still quite sour about. Come dinner time, her five eldest would already be at table, the meal prepared by the one on cooking duty.

It was not that they didn't trust the cook of the Uchiha Clan, Kami knew that their food was heavenly. But there was something even better in eating a meal prepared with heart by the family, something that Sakura was thankful of.

The seating arrangement was the only thing that changed. Instead of Sakura being at the head of the table, it was, of course, Madara with Sakura to his right. It greatly contrasted with Izuna, who gladly took up Sakura's right with her at head of the table. Another thing that contrasted was the ambiance of it. Though it was still relaxing, it wasn't… joyous… like it was before. Ashido and Daisuke would remain silent unless talked to, Haruki and Kaito talking among themselves and Akira being the only one to try and strike up conversation with the eldest. Sakura would always ask how their day went and they would all reply honestly, whether they had a good day or a horrible one.

Madara was always quiet.

Back in their room, Sakura braided her mid-thigh length hair over one shoulder as to not disturb the baby who was going to sleep in their bed in between them. This was also something new. None of their children had ever slept in the same bed as them unless they were sick. They had their own crib from birth and they slept there in the room adjacent.

Sitting up in a comfortable position on the bed, she waited a minute before Madara came in with Kazue and made straight for her. Passing arms, she shifted the baby in her arms, trying to move herself into a better position now that the baby was with her. Opening her kimono, she giggled quietly as the little one immediately began nursing, putting a small hand on the side of the breast he was suckling. It was definitely a good thing her sons never were too taken with breastfeeding and went straight to the bottle after the first few months.

Madara got ready for bed, having entertained Kazue while she got ready. When he finished, he climbed into bed right next to them and waited patiently, burying his face in her neck, a fetish that he had developed over the time they've been together. Occasionally, he would run his fingers through the baby's hair or let his index be caught in the little one's hand.

Afterwards, she gently put him down on the blue blanket in between them, covering him with another. He immediately fell asleep. Trying to follow suit, she buried herself into the covers, facing her husband who was reading an ominous-looking scroll.

"Try to sleep."

His deep voice said to her. His eyes shifted to the side to look at her without moving his head. Sakura closed her eyes, not sure if she could do what he says but nonetheless tries to relax in her bed.

"…Thank you," she whispered to him.

"Hn."

The grunt was cold but then she felt the dip in the bed when he leaned over to kiss her. She then felt his unusually warm hand on top of her head, caressing her locks almost lovingly until she fell asleep.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Two years later…

"Why did you do that?" Her voice came off like chipping ice.

Her dear husband had just come back from attacking Iwagakure after trying to subdue them to be at Konoha's service.

The man glared at her, "Did you think an alliance would mean that they wouldn't try and usurp the village?"

"Maybe not, but threatening them certainly wasn't an answer," she retorted, frustrated that he had done something so senseless in her eyes.

For the past two years, it seemed to her that Madara had calmed down. He would still go missing some days on end but always returned… each time, he would reek of blood and the malicious aura around him strengthened. It unnerved her to no end.

Was it really going to follow history once again?

It hurt her pride to say it, but she was at a loss when it came to the man. These days, she had thought that maybe she had been unwise to let him live… maybe… she should have killed him that first night that they met. Be rid of one of the most dangerous men that had ever walked the surface of their world.

She was slowly losing her power over him.

Or maybe… she never really _had_ leverage on him.

Maybe… she was just building up illusions so that she wouldn't have to face the harsh reality of what was to come… and what –inevitably- will be.

* * *

**I know what you're thinking. Another kid?! First of all, I love portraying children. And, when I think about Sakura, I immediately think of a big family. Sorry for those who dislike OCs.**

**I still hope you enjoyed it. Till next time. **


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello~ I'm finally done with my exams, yay me! Here's an extra long chapter!**

**Questions/Remark Replies:**

**LeonaMasha: Thank you, this world took me a while to imagine, Goddess knows how many times I had changed my mind until I finally stuck to it.**

**amathor: chocolate fudge brownies... yum... I'll see if my muse can come up with something in the next chap. xD**

**olliebaz9: why all boys? Well... because I like them. Girls are such hassles, I sometimes wish I was born a guy :P Anyways, um... when I envisioned Sakura's family, especially kids, I thought about the way she was always surrounded my male figures and it stuck. Each of her boys mean a lot, personally, to me, I created them all specifically to fill up a part in the story. Unfortunately, I did not have any inspiration as to what a daughter would be doing here. **

**mun3litKnight: I'm young too, and having kids is still a very far away concept for me as well and even then, my max would be five :) But, I was raised in a country where kids are treasures when you have nothing else. My grandmother had eleven kids and I was inspired by it. I think Sakura deserves something to hold onto like family, especially when she's practically all alone in this endeavor. About the age, it's been already mentioned in the prologue that she's immortal (and so are her kids) so age isn't an important factor in this story. xD**

**Thank you for all your reviesw and without further ado, enjoy~**

* * *

Chapter 10:

Sakura narrowed her eyes to the horizon...

It was starting.

She looked down and smiled; "Kaa-chan has to deal with a few things, but I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?" the four year old Hayato looked up at her with big dark blue eyes. She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She then went to the other crib where the twins were and also kissed them and the last one where Kazue slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of everything.

Turning to the door, Daisuke, Kaito and Akira with Kimihiro were standing there. "Look after them, will you?" she ruffled each of their hair, "I won't be long."

They nodded in consent.

"Be careful, Kaa-chan," Akira said, kissing his mother's cheek.

She smiled reassuringly, "I will."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The fight was escalating to a very dangerous level as a dark shadow rose above the land. A blood-curdling roar was heard as the orange fox demon was summoned.

Sakura scowled as she saw the great beast from afar and doubled up her speed, her dark red kimono clashing brightly among the green leaves. She stopped and perched herself atop a tree when she got close enough to them. She looked around and reminded herself that this place was going to be the Valley of the End… and that Madara would lose control of the Kyuubi in a while…

Just like he did with the ten-tails.

But, it wasn't her place. She couldn't interfere now, because this was a big part in history. Her eyes darted to the demon, but she was going to have to use this time to get some influence on the future.

So she waited.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

She waited until Hashirama had gotten the upper hand on Madara and then his control broke. She gracefully jumped out from the trees, darting towards the freed Kurama as even the First Hokage's special chakra suppressing ninjutsu: Kakuan Nitten Suishu was slowly losing power.

She pursed her lips, something had changed… normally, the First would have been able to stop the Kyuubi. She glanced a second to the red-haired woman standing near the woods, waiting for the right time. Normally, it would just be those three involved… but somehow…

Kurama was stronger this time around.

Madara seethed as he tried to attack the Senju, who was having a bit of a difficulty in stopping the Kyuubi. Sakura came in between them, intercepting Madara's giant fan with her bare hands. The two looked surprised and she could vaguely hear Mito shout out a 'Sakura!'.

The Sharingan swirled, ready to kill her when its user decided, "Get. Out. Of. My. Way." He bit out, pushing against his fan. She didn't wince nor express any emotion to him as the sides of the blade-like fan sliced through her skin.

"I won't let you," she replied evenly.

"You would betray the Clan? You would betray your own husband?" he exclaimed.

She narrowed her eyes, "The Uchiha Clan is not my clan… and I did not betray it. You did. As for betraying my husband… I think I did that long ago when I married his older brother after his untimely death." Her words were spoken with an eerie calm.

That was the start of their fight. Pushing back against each other, sparks flew as the fan met her giant ax, which she had summoned via the scroll she had with her. They used speedy taijutsu moves to try and get a hit but after only getting nicks and slices here and there, they decided to forgo it and instead started battling jutsus.

Sakura had the bigger advantage since the earth around her was perfect, driving it up and around the Uchiha. Unfortunately, he just kept dodging and in the middle of it, had succeeded in calling out a Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. Of course, it was quite powerful and Sakura had to dive out of the way as it melted the earth protecting her.

She glanced back a millisecond to look how Hashirama fared; he and Mito were already on the process of sealing the Kyuubi. Turning back to her opponent, she moved back quickly as he called out Susanoo. The great chakra humanoid towered above her, she winced as images of this same Susanoo trying to break her body in its palm as she was trying to regain control of the Kyuubi in that future.

That fateful day when the ten-tails had killed its master right before her eyes… she had felt the palm holding her down dissipate as Madara was dying, the ten-tails feeding off his life-force to restore its energy. She had seen the Uchiha crumble to dust… and her tetanized body wouldn't move because of the shock of it all…

In her momentary stupor, this Susanoo had hit her with its hand, sending her flying a few feet into the air then back down to the ground. Landing on her knee, she jumped out of the way as it swiped at her again. She flinched when the skin of her arm started to burn because of the contact and her thorax hurt as she could tell it had broken some ribs. She growled. She needed to finish this quickly.

Putting her hands together, she did a multitude of hand seals, almost too fast for the untrained eye to see, then with her already sliced palms, she smeared the blood onto her hands. Closing her eyes in concentration, she slapped her hands onto the ground. A 'poof' was heard and in front of her was a giant purple ball, inside, she knew, were spiked of metal, ready to tear through flesh for a strong binding jutsu.

With him slowly losing his chakra, energy and life-force because of Susanoo, she was able to catch him in her jutsu. Breathing hard, she rolled her dislocated shoulder as her chakra began to heal the third degree burns on the right side of her body. She turned to the couple who were having trouble and went over to them.

Looking up at Kurama, her eyes softened slightly. He had cared for Naruto… no matter how much he said he hated the kid and their situation… she knew he cared. She walked slowly towards him, passing by the Senjus who were shouting at her to not get any closer. She ignored their cries and put up a hand towards the great demon.

"Kurama," she called out softly.

The beast, who was struggling right to left, froze… shocked that his real name had been called out. His red eyes darted to the petite woman standing in front of him. He bared his teeth at her, growling like the beast that he was.

"Who gave you that name, you impertinent human!" he exclaimed.

She kicked up her foot lightly on the ground and she was propelled into the air, she stood afloat in front of his eyes.

"You did," she answered.

"Impossible!"

"But you did… decades into the future… of another time… you did," she repeated.

He paused, "Explain yourself human," he growled menacingly at her.

She nodded her head, "In another world… a world past… a world that has been but is not anymore. You... gave me your name. Because I was a precious person of someone you came to care about… your vessel."

He roared, "Vessel? I would never accept to be caged up in a human of all things, much less care for that one!"

"But you did," she insisted softly.

"You lie!" he started struggling and shaking. Sakura heard Mito screaming because of the strain on her body. If this continued, Mito could die and then she would have a bigger to problem to deal with.

Holding out her hand, it shone as she sent forward a golden chain, shooting out from her palm. It encircled the beast and kept him from moving.

"Please… Kurama… hear me out…" she pleaded.

Memories started flowing from her mind to his, through the golden chain.

_She couldn't move her body… not a leg, or her eyes, or even a small twitch. But she could hear clearly the world around her… she could hear the frantic voice of Naruto screaming to 'do something', the frustrated tone of Neji agreeing with him as he squeezed her hand. The authoritarian voice of Shikamaru who sounded forced saying that right at the moment, there was nothing they could do for her as he brushed his fingers across her forehead._

_She heard and felt it all. She was stuck in her mind._

"_There has to be something," Naruto said lowly, "There's always something."_

_Then there was a silence as she felt the warm and comforting chakra of the Jinchuuriki float over her for a moment before it completely engulfed her. _

_She felt warm and protected… It was, after all, Naruto._

_In the dark abyss of her mind, a bright orange started appearing until the form of her best friend materialized in front of her._

"_Save her, Kurama… I beg you," was whispered, and it echoed through her mind._

_The Kyuubi was in front of her now, he was crouching down to be able to look at her. His red eyes reflected her vulnerable form, sitting on nothing, with only a thin bloody white dress on her. Her long pink hair splayed out around her._

"_Kyuu…bi…"_

"_The kid really cares about you, you know. He could have died by doing this," he informed her, gesturing his head to the surrounding, "But I guess that's just him." He shrugged then became more serious. "Haruno Sakura. I've been watching you from this body for over a decade now… I know that you've got some hidden potential in you. And I can see that just like the kid, you want to protect those closest to you… even if that list keeps getting smaller every day…" he trailed off._

"_But, I owe the kid. And I can't say I don't like you," his eyes roved over her form and she had the decency to blush, "You saved the kid and thus me, many times over the last few years so I guess this isn't just for the kid." He confessed, "So you'd better not waste it."_

_Sakura nodded, "Thank you, Kyuubi…"_

"_Tch, I'm only paying my debts."_

"_Not only for this… but for everything. You've protected Naruto… not only him but for the village as well. I'm grateful."_

"_Tch. You remind me of my second jinchuuriki. I didn't quite like her that much, she was too loud," he said, his ears bending down a bit to reinforce the 'loud' part. _

"_I'll take that as a compliment, Kyuubi," she softly giggled._

"_... Call me Kurama."_

"_Alright… Kurama."_

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Kurama stood still, shocked at the memory he saw and looked at the sad white-haired woman. He pitied her. "So that's how it is…" he grunted and looked at her, "And I suppose you're here to change things." She nodded a 'yes', "And I presume that I'm supposed to be sealed off."

She closed her eyes, "Please," she pleaded, "I… I don't want to relive the pain of losing them again… please… Kurama…"

Her eyes opened suddenly when she felt something soft brush the side of her head. It was one of his tails.

"…Looks like I still haven't paid my whole debt. You know how I hate them, after all," he said, "Well, if it's supposed to be this way… then for you… I can accept it. Only because no matter how hard I'm trying, I can't get out of this bind you made."

Sakura smiled, "These chains are connected to my heart. The heart that wants to protect and to live to see those I care about one more time… these bonds will never be severed."

"Then I have no choice but to comply," he said this as more of himself was absorbed into Mito Uzumaki's body. He was silent as 75 percent of him was sealed, "You owe me, Haruno Sakura." He whispered as he was completely sealed off.

She floated back down to earth to where Hashirama was hugging and comforting Mito. The two then looked up at her in amazement.

"Thank you," Mito said and got up with the little force she had to hug the older woman, "Thank you so much." Hashirama gave her a grateful hug as well for helping them.

Sakura turned to the summon and bit her lip when she found that in all that commotion, Madara had been able to get away. She looked up into the dark sky.

Hopefully… it would be the last they would see of him for a long time.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

After bidding goodbye to the Senjus, she made her way back towards the Uchiha residence. Entering the estate, she immediately felt that something was wrong and she had a sinking feeling. Quickly making her way towards her children's room, her breathing almost stopped as she took in her children sitting dejectedly with tears in their eyes in front of a wrecked room, proof of a battle long finished.

She looked at her other children, Daisuke sat with Kousuke in his arm, scratches on his cheeks and his glasses broken on the ground; next to him sat Kaito who held Kohaku, they were both unharmed. Haruki was holding his head in one of his hands while the other was in a sling, Kimihiro sobbing openly beside him, the wolves all huddled together, injured as well. And Ashido… he had a hand over his eyes, supported by his knee, while the other was clenched tightly into a fist. Akira immediately made his way towards her and hugged her, sobbing into her ruined kimono, his frantic voice muffled by it.

Ashido, sensing her presence looked up with red eyes and slowly made his way towards her. She noticed the slight limp he had and the blood on the front of his shirt where a wound was more or less closed. Akira stepped back as Ashido put a hand on his shoulder.

The eldest looked up into her eyes guiltily… sorrowfully… weakly…

"I… I'm so sorry Kaa-chan…" he whispered, looking down at his feet, "I… I tried to stop him…" his fist clenched and Sakura noted that his other one was broken, "I really did… I'm so sorry. He… he came and… just… took them. He took Hayato and Kazue… and we couldn't do anything."

With those words, Sakura felt her blood run cold…

He had dared.

Anger started consuming her body up but then it simmered down when her oldest, who was usually so strong broke down in tears in front of her, apologizing. She took him in her arms.

"Shush, now, Ashido," she said, running her hand through his hair, "You did all you could… it's going to be okay… we'll get them back. I promise you that… we'll get them back."

He was going to pay.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura blew out the thin, white smoke slowly into the air, watching as it dissipated. Her long white hair was pulled free of any ties and ornaments, flowing softly down her back and onto the tatami floor of her house. Her dull grey kimono with white curvy lines that represented the wind was loose around her form, one of the shoulders slipping down and her obi barely tied around her waist.

It was quiet…

She had opted to keep her children away from anywhere near this place until she was sure that that bastard wasn't going to take one of them away from her. She tightened her hold on her kiseru and quickly picked up the sake cup in front of her, downing it in one go, calming her nerves a bit.

"Sakura…" her wolf called out softly, "We'll get them back."

She gritted her teeth, "Of course we'll get them back!" she threw her sake cup against the opposite wall. She then put a hand to her head, trying to calm herself down. She didn't want her kids seeing her like this. She never wanted them to see her like this. After all, it was rare at all that something got her so bad that she had resorted to smoking and drinking heavily.

"You should stop, now. You'll only make yourself feel worse. They're coming back in two days." He reminded her gently. He was about to say more when there was rapping at the door. He frowned and took a glance at his mistress one more time before sauntering away to go tell their visitor that she was unavailable at the moment. With his paw, he slid the front door open and looked up to see Tobirama Senju.

"…Hello, Rakuen-san…is Sakura-san there?" he asked, unsurely, but his posture was sure.

"I'm sorry but she's unavailable for the moment," the wolf answered.

The man's hopeful eyes dimmed, "I see… it must be hard for her after all that's happened."

"It is," Rakuen stared at the Senju and remembered that this one had an infatuation with his mistress… probably since the first time they met. His mistress needs someone to comfort her, someone from the outside since she easily pushed him away every time he tried. "Come on in… she needs some new company anyways." He decided.

Tobirama looked down in surprise but found that Rakuen was already inside, leaving the door open for him. He cautiously entered the slightly somber home, taking care to close the door behind him. He then followed the wolf around the house and marveled at the beauty of the paintings that decorated the walls. He stopped to admire one of a waterfall, flowing down into rocks at the bottom.

"You like it?" he turned at the question to the wolf who was staring at him.

"Very much," he responded, running his fingers lightly over the bamboo on which it was painted on.

"It was Sakura-hime who drew that. Actually, most of the paintings in this house, it was Sakura-hime who made it. Some are by Daisuke though. Like this one." He lifted his paw up to point to the wall in another corridor. It was the picture of the sky, with some realistic looking clouds and detail oriented birds.

"It's beautiful. They're really talented…"

"Thank you."

His head swiveled around and his eyes widened as he saw the head of the house standing there. Her posture was slack and she was slightly leaning against the wall, not like the firm, graceful and radiating with authority way she usually held herself. Her clothes were slightly askew and sullen, showing off a bit of her shoulders and legs, unlike the dark but imposing kimonos she was used to wearing. Her hair cascaded freely behind her, her bangs covering her eyes partially. In her right hand she loosely held her kiseru and the other was on the wall as if she couldn't quite hold herself up.

He stepped out of the corridor and bowed slightly, "Sorry for the intrusion but… Mito's been very worried and wanted to come herself but… her state of health isn't at its best yet."

Her eyes held his for a moment, "Well, make sure to thank her for worrying about me…" she lightly pushed herself off the wall and sauntered over to an open doorway, "Come in, you came all the way here, you must be tired." He had probably came here from the old Senju estate to the East since Mito had been moved there for the time being. Sakura herself had decided to occupy her own home.

If he was being honest, she looked like she was even more exhausted than himself. He entered the room, opening up to a garden and sat down around the low table. He noticed the frighteningly large amount of sake bottles to the side and the newly opened one on the table, as well as the broken pieces of glass on the opposite wall. She offered him some, which he accepted.

They drank in comfortable silence for a while. He knew that she had lost her sons, and to a parent, it must be wrecking. He didn't know what to do. He shifted in his place as he remembered his sister-in-law's stern face as she all but ordered him to go and check-up on the medic.

He couldn't have known that it was this bad.

"I know a look of confusion when I see one… Tobirama-san," she spoke, he looked up but she was facing the garden, inhaling the tobacco and softly blowing it out. "And you must be wondering if I'm okay…" she tilted her head down, "Well I'm not going to lie to you… I'm not." She let out a hollow laugh.

"Then let me help you," he said.

She snorted and looked up at him, "Help me? I don't need help."

He pursed his lips and stood up, he then crouched down to her level, "You do need help. I know this has been a traumatic experience for you-

"Traumatic?" she cut him off, laughing dryly again, "What do you know about traumatic?" she asked, "I'm a medic… I should know what trauma is. I've seen it in patients… I've seen it in on the battlefield many times… I've seen it on my comrades' faces… and I've felt it." She paused, taking a breath, "I've lost… so… so many people… that the trauma has become a part of me." Tears gathered up in her eyes.

"Do you know… how it feels when you've lost everything? The people you cared about… the land you protect… hope… all disappearing? I came here… because I don't want to experience that again…" she whispered, the tears now pooling down her beautiful face, "And... and…" she heaved her breaths, "I can't, I just can't!"

He took her into his arms as the woman broke down in front of him, probably for the first time, his arms tightened around her, "You won't, Sakura. I won't let that happen."

It was then that Tobirama came to know that Sakura… despite her strong exterior demeanor… was fragile… and broken inside.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Three months later…

Sakura sat down and watched as a line of spirits walked in the distance. Their white translucent bodies were glowing against the darkness of the night as they silently marched on to who-knows-where. She sat in her spacious room and looked around her where a large white paper lay before her; on the sides were various small bottles of paint, ink and different sized brushes of the finest quality.

Tobirama had comforted her after she had broken down. He had said that she shouldn't always drown her sorrow away in drinking and smoking… so he had proposed that she instead paint. Paint anything and everything that came to her mind as long as it helped her get everything out someway. Because he was decided in helping her any way… so he bought her all of the materials she would need.

The woman sighed loudly as she thought of what she could give him in return. Ten years of living on the principle of equivalent exchange really changed your mentality on an entirety of things. She looked around her room where paintings were stuck up on the walls every which way. It bitterly reminded her of Sai's room.

Her emerald eyes then turned down to where a wooden tray was, and on it was a small piece of paper, an ink bottle made of crystal and a fine bamboo brush, laying orderly. Next to it was a pendant of a pair of wings… made of clay… and a cherry blossom flower made of wood. It was a habit of hers… whenever she did anything artistic… to put out those items and remember the ones who taught her everything she knew.

Her finger traced the slightly aged clay in the form of wings. She closed her eyes and she could nearly see his blue eyes shining mischievously at her, or his long blond hair that she had a tendency to tease him about.

_The eighteen year old sighed as she looked outside, it was raining again. I mean, yes, it was rain country… but still. She looked around at the base where she was being kept 'prisoner', so to say. She could move around the base freely, but she wasn't so suicidal as to try and escape when she was stuck in a secret labyrinth-like base full of s-class criminals at every corner._

_It had been a month since she was captured… an extremely awkward four weeks… thirty unbelievable days where she had learned so much about the people living there. The people who her home feared above all… yet… _

_She wasn't afraid._

_She looked up when a hand rested on her shoulder. A slightly dark blue eye shone at her, blond bang covering the other. _

"_Bored, un?"_

"_Extremely."_

"_Then come with me, un."_

_She raised an eyebrow but accepted the hand offered to her as he lifted her up and dragged her to who-knows-where, her hand encased in his the whole time as they ventured around the base. They came to his room where he ushered her in, closing the door behind him._

"_Close your eyes, un."_

_Both of her eyebrows rose at this and she gave him an incredulous look. At this, he rolled his eyes, "Trust me."_

_She did as she was told and then she distinctly felt the pull and smoke of a teleportation jutsu. At this, she quickly opened her eyes then her breath was taken away from her. They were now on one of his birds, flying above the storm below._

"_Wow!" she gasped and held onto the blond who was next to her as the bird swerved to the side dangerously. He put his arm around her waist as she did this, smirking at her. She just glared playfully at him. "I've always wished to fly."_

"_Who doesn't?" he said, looking out into the vast sky around them, he smiled fondly, "The first time I flew, I didn't touch the ground until I ran out of chakra trying to maintain the bird."_

_She rolled her eyes, "Idiot…" she shivered a bit when his hands touched her neck and put something on it. She looked down and saw clay wings dangling down a metal chain. She looked up at him. "What?"_

"_Just something to remind of today… and of me," he winked._

_She blushed scarlet and bowed her head down, whispering a shy thank you._

She then looked at the small cherry blossom carved from wood.

_She gingerly stood in front of the wooden door, her arms full of scrolls, commanded by the resident puppet master. After finding out that he had gotten revived with the others, she had practically blacked out… since then, they haven't even spoken to each other._

_Balancing the scrolls in one arm, she raised one up to knock at the door before quickly catching the unbalanced scrolls. She had to wait a minute more until the door was opened half way and red eyes peered at her from inside. His eyebrow was raised at seeing her._

"_Pein-sama said that these are yours and told me to give them to you," she explained, shifting her feet uncomfortably. _

_Sasori's eyes looked at the scrolls, then her, back to the scrolls and finally, he opened the door wider to let her in, making sure to prolong her fatigue by making her carry it some more. She mentally sighed but entered the room, keeping her eyes down as she could see from her peripheral view wooden limbs all around._

"_Put it over here," he ordered, pointing to a free table. She did as she was told and sighed in relief when all was put down and her aching arms were freed. They stood there awkwardly for a moment._

_Her eyes roamed around the room then stopped at his desk, inspecting it. She blinked when her eyes landed on a small wooden doll sitting on the desk, unfinished. She unconsciously stepped more towards it and bent down. It was small, and yet the craftsmanship was impeccable. It was only the body but the face was already carved out perfectly and the limbs connected. _

_Sakura smiled, as it reminded her of the dolls she used to play with when she was little, "It's pretty."_

"_It isn't finished yet," he said, approaching his desk to look at the doll._

"_What will you do with it?" she sincerely doubted he made it just for kicks and decoration… or other hobbies she would rather not imagine while in his presence._

"_Spying and information gathering, I suppose. This one can fit through places I cannot and has a microphone attached to it on the inside." He showed her where the back opened to reveal a concealed microphone._

"_Creative." She then looked up at the small shelf filled various little trinkets, a collection of his without a doubt… and in the middle of all that was a peculiar little wooden carving. She reached out and took it between her fingers. It was a flower, that was for sure, with five petals and a precious stone was in the middle. "An amethyst?" _

_He nodded and turned his head to the shelf, "Yes. The items on that shelf remind me of the past."_

_Sakura looked at the flower, "A sort of memoirs then?"_

"_Yes, you could say that… keep it if you like it." He suddenly said._

_She looked up, "Keep it?" turning back to the flower in her hand, "Can I?"_

_He turned away from her, "I don't need another reminder of you anyways… after all… you're a hard woman to forget."_

The now older woman smiled at the memories of the two artists. They were the two she had spent the most time with during her 'stay' at their base, since, unlike most of the other members, they were more sociable.

Her hand then unconsciously went to the back of her shoulder. Standing up and going towards the mirror, she sat down with her back towards it. She loosened her obi and slid the top of her kimono down just until the upper half of her back was seen. There, on her left shoulder, was the tattoo of three small butterflies. A small one was near the bottom right and above it, slightly to the left was a slightly bigger butterfly and above that one, shifting to the left a little more was an even bigger one… but this one was only half done.

She lightly traced the half finished one sadly.

"_A tattoo?" he repeated doubtfully, looking at his pink-haired teammate._

_The said teammate nodded readily, "Yes, a tattoo. Could you?"_

"_The question is not if I can or cannot but rather, why?" he asked._

"… _because I want to." Was her answer._

"_Because… you want to? And why me?" _

"… _because... because!"_

"…"

"…"

"… _Alright."_

_In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in his small apartment full of paper, ink and brushes. _

_She frowned, "Do you ever clean this place up?" she asked, tiptoeing around ink bottles and half finished paintings on the ground._

"_No. Why bother since I'm rarely here anyways?" he said, clearing up a space for them in the middle of the room. She nodded in understanding and sat down on the cleared up space. He then went around the room, fetching the utensils needed. "I'm not that experienced in tattooing you know."_

"_I know," she responded, locking her eyes with his, "But I want_ you _to do it."_

"…" _he regarded her with emotionless eyes as he opened the special ink bottle and a sharp pen for this kind of tattooing. "What do you want?"_

_She shrugged, "Surprise me."_

_He raised an eyebrow, "Where?"_

"_Where's the best place, you think?" she asked._

_His hand reached behind her and touched her shoulder blade, "Here. It's discreet but not too concealed."_

_She nodded and turned her back to him before pulling up her shirt. She then proceeded to unfasten her bra, holding her shirt to her chest. She shivered when his cold fingers ghosted over the place where he was going to put it on._

"_Are you certain that you want this?" he asked. _

_She turned back and gave him a skeptical look, "Of course I'm sure…" her eyes shifted away from him, "Just… don't make it anything I wouldn't like… please."_

_He nodded and she turned back, "This'll hurt for the first few seconds." He warned as he took the pen between his fingers, dipped it into the black ink and, with one hand holding her shoulder still, he professionally started inserting the ink into the cells of her skin. She mentally snorted at the double entendre of his words, knowing that he probably didn't even get it._

"_Why me?" he asked once more, brushing some hair over her shoulder._

"…_You've…been summoned to go out to the front lines…haven't you?"_

_His experienced hand continued to work as he responded, "That's right." He paused, "What does that have to do with our current conversation?"_

"…" _he saw her hand clench at her side and her head bowed down a little… then he understood._

"_I see…"_

"_I… I'm scared… Sai…" she whispered, "You know how I've… lost many people in my life… and you may think I'm weak right now… but… I can't help it. You, Naruto… Neji, Shikamaru… Hinata… you're all I've got."_

_His hand didn't cease, even when her shoulders shook a bit, he stayed quiet, thinking about the situation they were going to have to face. They weren't going to kid themselves and say that they'll all live 'happily ever after' after the war… some aren't even going to make it that far. Most of them are going to die. It was war, after all._

_His hand stopped, and he slowly put down the pen. He watched as the tattoo was already drying thanks to her skin cells' rapid healing. He ran his fingers along his work and she gasped slightly. _

"_It's done?"_

"_Yes."_

_She carefully stood up and went over to the mirror in the corner of the room and admired his workmanship. She smiled, "It's beautiful…" then she tilted her head in confusion, touching the half painted butterfly. "It's… only half done?" she asked._

_He stood up and went over to her, kneeling so they were face to face, looking at it in the reflection as he answered, "I'll finish the other half… after this is all over." Her eyes widened in surprise at his statement. He put a towel around her shoulders and pulled her to him in a comforting hug using the sides of the towel._

"_You don't have to be scared... because I know that… for you… who has taught me an infinite amount of feelings… you'll always be able to find someone… who can fill that missing part. Because you're an amazing woman who may feel scared sometimes… but is a million times stronger than anyone I've ever met."_

_She buried her face in his chest and clutched at his shirt. _

"_Thank you."_

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Daisuke sat on the porch, his eyes squinting, even with his newly made glasses as he put the thread into the eye of the needle. With a satisfied huff as it entered, he took the black clothes resting on his lap and began sewing. Kuroi lounged next to him, his front paws were used as a pillow as he kept half-lidded eyes onto the horizon. He looked up momentarily as he felt the now familiar presence of Tobirama. He smiled at the older man.

"Good morning, Tobirama-san," he greeted, stopping his work.

The Senju nodded, "Good morning, Daisuke-kun," he approached the boy and inspected the clothes, "For you?"

The young man nodded and held it up, it was Chinese styled clothes with the shirt's front and back going down to his calves and slightly baggy pants underneath, he was sewing on white birds on the hem of the shirt.

"Like you mother's clothes eh?" he noted.

"Yeah," he affirmed, "She's in the workshop," he told him.

"Thanks. By the way, where are the others?" he looked around, usually the kids would be running around.

"Kaa-chan sent them on an errand in the village," he answered.

"I see… I'll be going then."

The teen watched the man go and thought about their current situation. They had left the Uchiha residence after their mother had fervently refused to leave the twins with them. So they went back to their home, like the olden days. They had, of course, noticed the changes in their mother as time went by. Before, you could have called her a bit rash at times and compassionate. She was someone who radiated warmth wherever she went.

But now, she was strangely apathetic to the outside world. To them, of course, she was the best mother they could ever have… but to the world, she had become a cold and powerful woman, someone who would not let herself be trampled upon.

And they were getting worried.

"What do you think will happen?" the calm wolf asked his master.

Daisuke shrugged, "Who knows. It's Kaa-chan's decision after all," he pushed his glasses up, "But I think they're good for each other… Kaa-chan… she needs someone to remind her to lie back once in a while."

"Hm… so you're not against the two?"

"I can't say I like it… but I'm not _completely_ against it."

"What about your brothers?"

"Who knows."

Daisuke waved as his said brothers came back from grocery shopping with arms full of paper bags and boxes, even their wolves had boxes strapped onto their backs. Putting down his work, he went over to them to get some of the items off Akira.

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Tobirama rapped on the door, which he knew was unnecessary since she already knew he was there, but manners were a must. A quiet 'come in' was said through the thin wooden and paper doors. He slid the door open. The white-haired woman turned back and greeted him with a smile.

He looked around the room, "Looks like you're really getting into it," he said, inspecting her works.

She nodded, "Yeah, I rarely do this kind of thing… it brings back… memories." She told him as she ran her hand down a painting of the Uchiha garden she used to love going through with Izuna.

The Senju recognized the place, for he had been there once when they were invited for a gala the previous head organized. He then looked at her face and saw the sadness there.

"You really loved him, didn't you?" he couldn't help himself from asking.

She tilted her head to him, confusion in her eyes.

"… Uchiha Izuna."

Sakura turned back to the painting silently.

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Ashido entered the house, his wolf following right behind. He put the rest of the money from groceries into a tray in the kitchen made for that use after putting everything down on the ground first. He didn't look up from putting away the things they bought as Daisuke came in and leaned on the doorframe.

"Tobirama's here again," he informed the elder.

"I know," he replied, "What's he here for this time?"

The bespectacled boy shrugged, "To talk, I suppose. Ever since we came back a few months ago, they've been awfully close, haven't they?"

The red-haired sighed and turned to his brother, leaning on the counter, "I know that, too." There was a pause, "You think they should get together?"

Once again, he shrugged, "It would be beneficial for us to be close to the First and the Second Hokage…"

"You've already talked to Kaa-chan about it?" Ashido questioned. He knew that it was Daisuke and Kaito who usually spent the most time with their mother –apart from the twins of course- since she was the only one who could teach them. The others though liked to be independent and usually trained by themselves or sparred with each other. They just wanted to get some of the burden off her shoulders. Daisuke, especially, had become a kind of confidant for their mother apart from her wolf.

"A little. She's thinking about it. The Second, unlike the First, didn't have any direct descendants that we know of so I assume he never got married. What do you think about it?"

"Will what I think change anything?"

"I suppose not, but I want to know anyways."

"I guess I could accept them. If only for Kaa-chan's wish for a better future."

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Fifteen year old Akira yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head. He leaned back down onto the back of his wolf who just grunted and resumed napping while they were on the front porch. Daisuke was off to the side near the shed, as usual with Kuroi at his feet, reading. Haruki was sleeping in the Sakura tree next to the shed and Kaito was inside, preparing their lunch since it was his turn; Ashido was probably in his room.

The blond with green eyes hummed and looked up into the clear blue sky, breathing in hard, filling his lungs with his element.

"Hmm… it's gonna rain tonight…" he mumbled, stifling back another yawn. His wolf just grunted in response to that.

"Do I look like I care?"

Akira huffed, "I'm just saying. You know your personality sucks sometimes."

"At least I have one," his wolf snickered.

The blond gave a particularly hard jab at the wolf's ribs for the comment. Kiiroi growled lowly at that and snapped his jaws at the fourteen year old who rolled away out of his reach.

"Come back here ya little!" he stood on his four legs, his ward stuck out his tongue at him and jumped off the porch.

"Catch me if you can, puppy!" he baited then began running when his agile wolf rolled his shoulders before springing up towards where he was. He dodged it skillfully, "Too slow!"

His brothers just watched the interaction with slight annoyance. They did this about twice a day and although it was funny at first, soon enough it became annoying with all the noise they kept making. Then there was the fact that they always had to get hurt and Kaito, although very lenient and would happily heal them, now wasn't too content with all the rough play.

The bright wolf's chest grumbled loudly and menacingly as he watched with sharp eyes his master's movements. They had been together enough time to know each other's weaknesses and strengths. Their ears perked up when they heard the snapping of a twig in the distance.

Using the moment of inattention, the wolf pounced onto his master, catching his shoulder in his mouth. Of course, it was all play so it wouldn't tear his skin like in normal fights.

They didn't stop playing even when the person who had snapped the twig earlier appeared. Akira used his strength to roll them over so he was on top, fisting the wolf's fur.

"Tobi… (grunt)… rama-san! (yelp)… Kaa-chan… what the hell! (grunt)… isn't here… right now…" he informed the Senju, trying to stop his wolf.

"…I was actually hoping to talk to you."

All movement stopped as different colored heads turned to gaze at the elder Shinobi. Akira pushed his wolf off him, getting up, "About what?" he asked as he patted away the dust off his clothes.

The white-haired man smiled sheepishly, "Actually, I've heard that your mother's birthday is coming up in a week… and I had wanted to give her a present but…" the sky was suddenly very interesting to him, "I can't seem to find any idea on what to give her." He finished a little lamely.

The kids were quiet for a moment before they heard a book close. Daisuke stood up and put his book down next to Kuroi, "Why don't you come inside first Tobirama-san? You came all this way, after all." The eldest currently present gave him a polite smile and motioned over to their home.

"Sorry for the intrusion," he said to the seventeen year old who lead them to the living room.

"Make yourself at home, I'll bring some tea," with that he left. Tobirama sat there a bit awkwardly. He had never come into the house without Sakura being there and was pleasantly surprised that her sons would actually invite him in. These kids weren't known to be very… benevolent… with their mother's… pursuers.

The future Hokage was immediately on his guard when a presence made itself known behind the doors leading to the garden. His stance relaxed though once the doors slid open to reveal the oldest blond. They held gazes for an unknown time before Haruki broke it as he entered the room and took a seat across and to the left of him.

One minute later, the elder came back with a tray of cups; right on his tail was Kaito, bringing in the tray with the teapot, sugar and milk. Tobirama watched as the black-haired boy set the tea. Tobirama blinked then remembered that he had brought something. Reaching into his shirt, he pulled out a scroll, excusing himself, he turned and got out a basket. Inside were small cakes, dango and dumplings.

Kaito accepted them with a smile, leaving towards the kitchen to put it on a plate. Daisuke had already taken place across him as well, a little to the right this time, leaving a space between the two brothers. Akira came in, with a new set of clothes and placed himself behind Daisuke but a little more to the right so he could be seen. Kaito then came back in with two plates, one for the sweets and the other for the dumplings. He then took a seat behind Haruki so as to make a mirror placement of Akira.

Silence.

It was only broken when the doors slid open and in came the eldest son. The eighteen year old walked purposefully and sat at his designated place in between the next oldest so he was directly across Tobirama.

"…"

"…"

"So I've heard that you want to get our mother a present for her birthday. That is the reason you came all the way here?" he asked, looking at the older man carefully, "All the way here, about a day's run from the Senju Estate where you are posted… to ask us what our mother would like...?"

"Yes."

"…Is there…any other reason for this visit?" the teen asked carefully, noting the slightly nervous look the Senju was trying to hide.

"…Well," he began, "I _do_ have an idea to as to what I _could_ give her… if the circumstances would allow me."

"Circumstances?"

He gave the elder a look that obviously told him to stop playing dumb.

Ashido smirked and Daisuke hid a chuckle behind a cough, "Well, then, Tobirama, you should also know that, like our mother, we like to get to the point instead of skirting around the subject."

Tobirama cleared his throat and reached behind him, when he put his hand out, five scrolls, with their names in kanji stamped on them respectively. He put them on the table between them.

Ashido's eyebrows rose as he regarded the scrolls, obviously gifts, for them. He looked up at the man who now looked very determined instead of nervous.

"I came here… to ask for Sakura's hand in marriage."

Their faces, save for Ashido's and Daisuke's, all contorted in surprise and shock. The wolves, who had snuck in during the conversation and sat at the back had their eyes wide open and ears pointing up, also in surprise.

Tobirama chuckled quietly, "This situation is very… unusual, I know." He met Ashido's amber eyes, they were blatantly telling him 'you do realize that we're still kids, right?'

"But I feel as if… it wouldn't be right, if I did not ask you. All of you," he corrected. "Under normal circumstances, I would have had this conversation with her parents… but I believe that the people who have the right to know and judge my decision would be all of you. You're the ones who know her the most. She loves you and you love her. And… forgive my selfishness… but I would also like to be a part of that happiness.

From the moment I saw your family, I did not once think that she could be as happy as she is without you, even with…" he paused, ready to tread in dangerous waters, "even with a husband." He could see how their eyes dimmed at the mention of their late step-father but continued, "You are her most important people. That is why I came to you, knowing that your mother is on a mission, with gifts and my words… to persuade you to consider my proposal."

The younger ones behind Ashido all gave each other a look and smiled secretly. Daisuke pushed up his glasses, hiding his smile behind his hand and nudged his older brother.

"Senju Tobirama," Ashido started, looking very serious and very dangerous, "Thank you." A small smile broke on his face, "Thank you for considering us in your decision." His eyes closed, "Our mother is the one who will ultimately make the final decision… but…with all that you did… we would come off as malicious if we didn't accord you our blessing," he smirked in amusement when Tobirama let out the breath he had been holding.

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Haruki, Kaito and Akira were stuffing their faces with the food brought by their soon-to-be step-father and opening their gifts as Ashido and Daisuke accompanied him to the edge of their territory to bid him goodbye.

Tobirama turned, "Thank you for accompanying me."

Daisuke smiled, "Was the meeting to your expectations, Tobirama-san?" he asked.

The man chuckled, "Well, I would never have imagined that I would be asking for the hand of the woman I love to her _children_… but it definitely wasn't any less nerve-wracking than it would have been with the parents."

The three chuckled.

"I think it's time for me to head back, then and I'm hoping to see you soon, if your mother rejects me… then it would be a while before I ever show my face here again…" he mumbled.

"Don't worry," Ashido said, "We've been hearing nothing but appraisal for you from our mother." He didn't bother stretching the conversation any longer.

Tobirama smiled and nodded, turning, ready to run.

"Ah! I almost forgot," the elder stopped him, the Senju turned a bit, "Amethyst."

The white-haired man blinked, "Amethyst?"

"Pink amethyst," the younger said, "it's our mother's favorite precious stone."

"So if you're gonna get her a present… make sure it has one," they hinted, knowing that there wouldn't be a lot of choices in gifts when it came to having precious stones on them.

With that, Ashido and Daisuke watched as their future step-father nodded in thanks and disappeared from their sight.

"Hey…" Daisuke brought his brother's attention, "Do you think… if we were old enough back then… that… _he_ would've done the same thing?"

The red-head glanced at his brother, sighed deeply and began walking towards their home.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, Otouto…"

* * *

**So yeah. I'm keeping up the sign MultiSaku pretty well nee? xP I love AkaSaku.  
I do try to satisfy any couple requests, so I'm gonna list them here for a while:**

**GaaSaku  
KakaSaku  
MinaSaku  
ItaSaku**

**You guys are free to give_ suggestions_ for other characters as well, for the Konoha 12 for example.**

**Age: **

Sakura - 37  
Ashido - 18  
Daisuke - 17  
Haruki/Kaito - 16  
Akira - 15  
Kimihiro - 7  
Hayato - 3  
Kohaku/Kousuke - 2  
Kazue - 1  
Hashirama - 29  
Tobirama - 26  
Madara - 29  
Mito - 32


	12. Chapter 11

**Once again, I thank everyone for their reviews. This is a special treat, it's one of my longest chapters yet.**

**So, I've gotten some more suggestions so here they are again:**

******Gaara  
Kakashi  
Minato  
Itachi  
Sakumo (um... I'm a bit skeptic on this one... :S I'll have to think about it)  
Shisui (I personally love him so definitely)  
Sasori  
Deidara**

**So while writing this chapter, I was like in an emotional roller coaster... I hope it isn't too confusing. **

**Please read the A/N at the end if you're wondering about my inspiration (or lack of) on some parts of this chapter.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Chapter 11:

One month later…

"Sakura-chan!" the red-haired woman engulfed the older woman in her arms tightly, "Welcome to the family!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.

The said woman smiled back, "Thank you," they parted and Sakura righted her slightly crumpled wedding kimono. The wedding ceremony had started early in the morning and it was now near sunset. Tobirama had proposed to her right after that faithful meeting with her children (of which she knows nothing about).

The Senju family was accepting of her. More so than the Uchiha were when she had married Izuna. Even if she had been an Uchiha, they treated her like she never was since, in her days as the Uchiha matriarch, she still visited the Senju couple and helped whenever and wherever she was needed.

Needless to say, the ambiance with the Senju was jovial and she felt welcomed… even though it reminded her painfully of her Naruto.

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Sakura carefully folded up the white wedding kimono, enveloping it in a white sheet to protect it before putting it in her closet, next to two square sheets, almost identical, which contained her previous wedding kimonos. Her hand traced the other two and a bitter smile made its way to her face as she recalled that she had always, as a little girl, dreamed of her wedding day.

It would've been a big wedding, with all her friends, her family, her loved ones. She imagined wearing one of the modern wedding dresses of her time. It would have been pearly white, with a sweetheart line, dotted with pearls and lace. The skirt, just like in fairy tales, would puff out gracefully from her hips in layers, hiding a garter underneath. She would have her hair curled and pulled up gracefully to show her neck, where her mother's necklace would have dangled from. A tiara would then be placed at the crown of her head, a long veil attached to it. Hidden in a secret pocket in her skirt would have been the chain containing all the rings, pendants and mementos that they had given her.

She would then imagine herself walking down an aisle, towards the podium where an unknown man waited for her, his back turned.

Then…

Then what?

She laughed bitterly, she knew.

Then she would close the closet doors and remind herself that it was only a dream.

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Sakura stood in front of the mirror, expertly tying her red obi around her magenta kimono with purple roses on it. Tobirama snaked his arms behind her around her waist and kissed her temple, looking at her reflection. He brought a hand up to caress her cheek.

"You know what intrigues me?" he asked her.

Her eyes caught his in the mirror, "No, but please enlighten me."

He paused a moment, "…You haven't changed in appearance for a while." He continued trailing his hand along her face, unblemished by the signs of age.

The woman also had noticed this. She had, to put it simply, stopped aging so she looked like she was only in her early thirties. I guess, it was just one of the prices of being immortal. Tobirama noticed the sad look on her face, but decided not to pry. So what if she didn't age? Did it really matter?

No.

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"Sakura, meet Sarutobi Hiruzen, he's been our student since he was young. Hiruzen-kun, this is Sakura," Tobirama presented. The nineteen year old bowed to Sakura as she inclined her head politely.

"He's our prodigy, he shows an enormous potential, one that we haven't seen in ages," Hashirama told her.

"I think he'll be one of Konoha's greatest shinobi someday," Tobirama added.

Sakura nodded in agreement, she couldn't believe that she would actually out-age the one who she had called 'grandfather' and 'professor' when she was just a little kid. It felt odd seeing him… but on another hand… she felt nostalgic and, if she really admitted it, happy, to have finally met someone she knew from her past.

"You must be quite the shinobi if the Hokage and my husband are complimenting you so," she said, smiling at him.

He gulped slightly, looking at the woman, "Thank you. And…I've heard quite a lot about you as well, Sakura-sama. I'm honored to meet you!"

"The honor is all mine, I assure you," she mumbled, earning a confused look from the young man.

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"What do you think of Hiruzen?"

"What do I think about him?" she repeated, putting her arms around his neck, "I think he'll become one of the greatest shinobi of Konoha." She mocked his earlier words.

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her, "Don't mock me. There's another one… who has potential, but…"

"Who is he?"

"Himura Danzo's his name. Hiruzen and him have had a strong rivalry since they were young," he said. Tobirama saw his wife's eyes harden for a second and felt her grip tighten but said nothing of it, choosing to watch her carefully.

"Danzo, eh?" she mumbled, she pulled herself away from her husband, feigning to stretch as if a pain suddenly racked her back, "I don't quite like the name myself. I'm sure that Hiruzen will not have any trouble with him though."

Tobirama laughed, "You sound sure of yourself."

"I am."

He gave her another kiss and pushed her onto the futon gently, "I love that about you," he started kissing her neck and she giggled. They were about to go further when an alarm went off. They stopped and quickly parted, making their way outside. A frantic messenger came up to them.

"There's been an intruder! An assassin sent for Hashirama-sama but we can't find him!"

Tobirama nodded, "Thank you, you may go." He turned to his wife, "Check the kids, I'll go help the search."

The white-haired woman agreed, making her way towards her children's rooms. Ashido was already outside, standing in front of the room where the twins were. He turned as he felt his mother's presence. She paused and a shiver went down her spine as there was a light jolt of a very, very familiar chakra in the vicinity. She saw shock on Ashido's face as well when she looked at him.

"Kaa-chan… that chakra was… could it be him?" he asked.

The mother pursed her lips, "Could be." She went over and entered the room where Akira and Daisuke were trying to calm the twins down while Haruki had his hands full with a still slightly sleepy Kimihiro. The two year olds, at the sight of their mother quieted down and held onto her as she took them in her arms.

"Come now, calm down, Kohaku-kun, Kousuke-kun," they did. She handed them back to their brothers, this time without any waterworks or whines. She turned to her older kids, "Stay put here for now, alright?" they nodded.

Sakura made her way outside and turned towards the direction where she felt the chakra. Ashido was by her side, she glanced at him a moment but said nothing as he followed her. They soon came to one of the yards in the residence, in the middle of it stood a shadow, a corpse by his feet and something pulsing in his hand.

The two watched with morbid fascination and disgust as the moonlight shone on the object in his hand. With deliberate slowness, the man reached behind him to some pouches where he dropped the fresh heart into one of them.

Ashido sucked in a breath but said nothing. He glanced at his mother who had an unreadable expression on her face. Before he could even blink, the man, who he now recognized as Kakuzu and his mother were at each other's necks.

Kakuzu searched in his head who the woman was as he dodged her blows. His eyes strayed to her hair, then her eyes; flitting through his mental Bingo book until he matched it.

Senju Sakura, formerly Uchiha Sakura.

She was known to be an exceptional medic and… by the kidnapping incident a decade ago, a superior shinobi. He cursed his luck, he was down to three hearts already, the Hokage had already taken half of his provisions earlier. Opening up his stitches, thread shot out as he tried to hit her.

It was usually one of his more unexpected attacks that frequently left some of his opponents in mild shock, leaving them open to any attack. But he was the one who was surprised when she simply dodged it, not seemingly astonished by it a little, if not at all. He pulled back and retracted them. He narrowed his eyes at the woman who stood calmly in front of him, his eyes then darted to the young man on the side.

He knew him as well: Ashido. He was already pretty well known in the métier. He had done some pretty tricky and dangerous missions, gaining a name for himself at such a young age. He had heard rumors that he was Senju Sakura's son, but now it was founded that they were indeed family.

But he was intrigued though. Here he was, trying to kill the Hokage who was also Sakura's brother-in-law. But they were just standing there, staring at him warily. The son didn't even try to stop him as he fled, passing by him.

He ran until he got out of the residence but kept running as it was sure that the village knew he had tried to assassinate their Hokage. Passing by the gate guards, he continued his way through the dense forest. Some safe kilometers away, he stopped a bit to catch his breath, looking back towards the village.

His patron was _not_ going to be happy.

He shook his head and was about to jump off once more when his blood ran colder than it already was. He turned to the side and melted into a defensive position. There, leaning idly against a tree was Senju Sakura.

She put her hands up, "I'm not here to fight you."

He scoffed, "Then what are you here for?" She locked eyes with him and threw him a pouch. He opened it to show precious stones and gold. He narrowed his eyes, "What do you want?"

She shrugged, "I don't know yet," she replied, "But when I do, I'll be calling you. And of course, you are still indebted to me."

He scowled, "Indebted to you?"

She smirked, "Yes, after all, I let you leave the residency… and I will also tell you that they're hot on your trail, and if I were you, I would head towards Iwa. Thus, you are indebted to me."

With that, she disappeared without a trace. The only proof she was ever there, or that the conversation actually happened... was the pouch in his hand… and the slight fear that slowly crept up inside him of the woman.

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"By giving at least one Bijuu to the new shinobi villages flourishing in the world, I hope to insure peace between us. I've given the One-tailed to Sunagakure, the Two and Eight-tails to Kumogakure, the Three and Six-tails to Kirigakure, the Four and Five-tails to Iwagakure, the Seven-tails to Takigakure and of course the Nine-tails remains with Konohagakure."

Hashirama spoke up at dinner. Mito sighed next to him, "Work, work, work, it's always work with you nowadays!" the woman pouted.

Her husband laughed, "Sorry, but," he looked up to Sakura, "I'd really like to have your insight on this, Sakura."

The white-haired woman chewed and put down her chopsticks, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Why do you want my opinion? You seem to be quite adamant on your plans."

He smiled, "Yes, but… since I've been talking about it, you've had this sour expression on your face; ever since I mentioned it to the other Clans. I hadn't had the opportunity to ask you since the others were all trying to get my attention elsewhere."

Sakura let out a particularly loud exhale and leaned on her elbow, "Are you sure you want my opinion, Hashirama? I think, no, I'm certain that you will not like what I have to say," she informed him.

He nodded, "Be it criticizes or worse, I really want your honest judgment on this matter," they locked eyes.

The white-haired woman leaned back a bit, pushing her plate and such away from herself so she could put her arms in front of her.

"You told me to be honest, so I will. Your idea of peace is naïve, Hashirama," she outwardly stated. "Do you think that giving the villages some semblance of power will stop the conflict between us? I think on the contrary, it may fuel it even more."

"But-

She put her hand up to stop him, "Please, let me finish first." He nodded and listened to her, she took a breath, "I'm not saying it will go that way. It may… there's still a possibility that people would want more power and try to take the beasts of other villages. But it's pretty slim though. Now… peace." She paused and closed her eyes.

"I know… that we are almost the same age. I'm your senior by… eight years. And you have the right to think that I don't have much experience… but I do. I believe that I have lived through more things than any of you have. It's nothing to brag about though. No, it's to say that… you don't know what peace is.

_I_ don't know what peace is.

Because, in our world… '_peace_' is just a word. 'Peace' is something… that I consider to be a myth. Sure, you may have a decade of no wars and few conflicts and if you're lucky, maybe a century of it. But the fact is… it never lasts.

People will always strive to develop. Some will find that their happiness is within family… and loved ones to protect. And others… they will find their completion and solace in searching for power. Both kinds of people exist and will forever cohabit… and both will forever battle against each other.

So when you say that you want peace, I only hear 'fleeting happiness'. Because… no matter how hard you try… no matter how much you've sacrificed for it… peace will remain a bird out of reach, only landing to feed itself, so as not to die… to give people hope… before flying off again."

There was a thick silence.

"Sakura…" Tobirama started, but he was quickly interrupted by his brother who sent him an apologetic look before turning to the woman in question.

"Thank you for your honest insight, Sakura, I appreciate it," he said. "I'm sorry if I reminded you of any unpleasant memories." They had noticed the sad and nostalgic look on her face as she talked about peace.

"No, I'm sorry for getting carried away and killing the mood. I just…" she gave an empty smile, "I once knew people like you. They wanted peace too…" she said. _And they all died trying. _

"But… when the happiness in your loved ones disappears… you really have no choice but to take refuge in knowing that there's something that will never die… and that's power. _Peace demands sacrifice_. So let me ask you… are you ready to face those consequences?"

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_Sakura only listened with half an ear to the discussion taking place in the Kage's tent. Managing to stay poker faced, her eyes lazily turned around the table, taking in the guard at each Kage's side. Biting her lip, she fixed a part of the wall next to the Kazekage's head, feeling a bit numb. _

"_We must retaliate! We can't afford to just stand around and do nothing!" the Raikage shouted, as usual, forcing his ideas around the table. _

_Onoki grunted and glared at the man, "And what do you suppose we do? We've lost nearly half of our forces already with the first wave. Who knows how many more zombies Madara has hidden somewhere!"_

_Mei nodded, "We're at a great disadvantage since they know where we are, but we don't have any idea where they might be. But, I believe we can at least make a comeback if prepared." She turned her head slightly to Gaara, "As Commander of the army, you should have some more knowledge on their capacity."_

_The young man momentarily closed his eyes, "Given the amount of unknown factors in this war, I do not think it wise to go into battle blindly. It will only serve to put us at a disadvantage."_

_A scowled at the two Kage who were evidently against him with Mei, carefully staying in between, who was not taking a side. His eyes narrowed._

"_Hokage! What do you have to say in this? You've been quiet this whole time," he said, directing his glare at her._

"…"

"_Hokage!"_

_Green eyes snapped towards A, "I am with the Tsuchikage. We don't know their numbers nor do we know when they are going to attack. I believe that the safest thing to do now is be prepared for battle."_

_With that, she turned her gaze back to the wall, not caring about the oncoming insult the Raikage was ranting about 'acting Hokages' and their 'incapability'._

_Her eyes caught onto the Kazekages' who regarded her with some kind of pity in his sea foam eyes. She mentally scowled, she needed no pity._

_The meeting ended as it usually did… fruitless._

_The pink-haired waited until the other Kages were out before getting up herself, only glancing up at Sai, her temporary guard once, before moving out of the protected tent. Once out, she immediately disappeared, giving her guard a subtle sign that she wanted to be alone._

_She soon found herself on a ledge, looking out at the camp. The tents were small, easy to pack up and could fit at least three grown men. They were all strewn across the valley, looking much like an ant colony. _

"_Did you need something Kazekage-san?" she whispered. She didn't turn around but heard the distinctive sound of his sand moving, probably back into his gourd. She could hear no footsteps after that but was forced to step forwards a bit when she felt body heat at her back._

"_I'm sorry for your loss, Tsunade-sama was an amazing woman," he said just as quietly. "Honestly, I wouldn't have thought you would be the acting Hokage."_

_She snorted, "Me neither. There are people who are much more suited for this than me. I just… don't understand why shishou picked me and even worse, why the Elders thought it would be a good idea."_

"_You shouldn't sell yourself short. I only meant that I find it quite pleasing to have another Kage less than thirty," he remarked, forcing out a small laugh from the young woman._

"_You shouldn't be saying that in front of the Mizukage, I think she wants us to believe that she's not a day over twenty-five," she joked softly. "But you're not here to make small talk, are you?"_

"_Not really," he replied. "I'm here to comfort a friend."_

_Sakura frowned, "I don't need your pity."_

"_I'm not pitying you."_

"_Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes, and in theirs. Mostly theirs. They look at me like I'm some sacrificial lamb. That I don't belong there." She laughed bitterly, "And I suppose they're right. They're just waiting and putting up with me because they know I'll probably die as well, and they could finally have someone more capable."_

_The redhead stayed silent for a moment, "And who do you think should replace you?"_

"_Hatake Kakashi," she replied with no hesitation._

_Gaara hummed, "Yes, indeed, he would be a perfect candidate for the position. He has experience, skills, reputation and intelligence to do it." He saw her flinch a little bit. "But… you are only missing one of those. And experience is something that doesn't really matter as long as you are able to make the right decisions for your country and your people. That is something I am positive you can do."_

_Sakura turned fully to him, meeting his black-rimmed eyes. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. The numbness in her body seemed to fade away and the metaphorical dam keeping her emotions in seemed to break instantly the moment the Kazekage's hand went up to cup her cheek. _

"_I believe that you will help us gain peace," he continued, "Together, we'll be able to forge a new future for the Shinobi world." _

_She looked up at him, leaning into his touch, "But all those Shinobi… how many of us are going to survive this?"_

_He sighed, "For there to be peace, there must be sacrifices."_

"_That's the worst antiphrasis I've ever heard," she replied._

"_But it's the hard truth. What is the world without power? If there was no idea of 'power' in the world, then 'peace' would not exist either, since it is the search for power that brings destruction and war; which, in turn, makes us think of a 'better place' within 'peace'. So long as power exists, some will be there to try and appropriate 'power' while others will try and attain 'peace' through 'sacrifice'… a concrete example of that would be Uchiha Itachi. I do not believe what he did was right… but it was necessary. It's a vicious circle that we, in this line of work, know very well."_

"_It's still not fair," she whispered._

"_Yes, but hardly anything in this world is fair… like for the fact that I am falling in love with someone who will probably never see me in that light."_

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Sakura took silent steps towards the basement where she knew her husband to be. The slightly somber and cold part of the house reminded her sorely of the time she spent underground, hiding from Madara's followers. But it also reminded her of better times, her personal lab was in the unused basement of the apartment building she had lived in. It was where she slaved over scrolls and information, perfecting her medical techniques.

She came to one of the four only doors down there and slid it open. There Tobirama was, the candles burning in each corner of the room illuminating the table he was working on well enough.

"I hope you know you've been down here the whole night," she informed him. Her tone wasn't accusatory but more matter-of-factly.

The white-haired man blinked and turned to her with slightly tired eyes, "I'm sorry, I lost track of time." He sighed and put down the brush he was holding, making sure to keep it away from the parchment he was writing on.

Sakura went over and inspected his work. She mentally cringed at the sight but managed to hide her uneasiness. "How are things going?" she asked, eyes roaming across the markings that gave her chills.

He frowned in concentration, "I'm progressing, if that's the meaning of your question. I've outlined the fundamental elements. But unfortunately, there are still many loopholes to fill up. Like here," he pointed at a part of the manuscript, "This part of it is highly unstable. If I were to theoretically try it out, it would probably damage my chakra coils."

Sakura listened with slightly unfocused eyes, "I see…"

Tobirama frowned, "Are you alright? Maybe you should lie down for a while," he said, he touched her stomach, five months into pregnancy, "Hashirama said you shouldn't force your body too much or you'll end up sick."

Worry was apparent in his voice, but Sakura didn't seem to hear. She felt him take her hand and lightly push her towards the exit. His hand never leaving hers, he led her towards their bedroom where he lay her down on the futon. He brushed her bangs away from her face.

"Rest," he ordered softly, "I'll be right here…" he said, he kissed her temple and closed his eyes, lying down next to her.

"I can always finish the Edo Tensei another day…" he mumbled tiredly.

He missed the way she winced as that name was uttered.

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Mito watched as Sakura brushed her red locks, twisting it this way and that to make thick extravagant loops on her head, much like a geisha's. They sat in front of the mirror, the older woman's eyes fixed on the silky red hair in her hands.

"Sakura-chan," she called out.

"Hm?"

"…What was your life like… before we met you?" she asked, her trained eyes on the woman.

There was no pause or hesitation in her answer, "I was living contentedly with my five children near the mountain."

"…Why did you move there? I mean, that house and I guess, your family appeared there more recently. You had… no family name as well."

This time there was a pause.

"I'm sorry… but I don't like talking about my past."

"Oh, no, I'm sorry for prying!"

"…It's nothing personal, I assure you… not even my first husband knew about my past."

Mito was startled at the revelation.

"That bad huh?"

"You could say it's something… that can only be shared by the people who lived through it."

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The village was covered in a sheet of seemingly never-ending rain as a sea of people walked slowly, gloomily and solemnly across the village.

Their beloved Hokage was dead.

Sakura held on to Mito as she cried in her arms, the older woman could do nothing but that at the moment. She looked up to watch her husband, newly assigned Hokage, as he talked to the people. She closed her eyes, some things in history… she could not change. This was one of them.

She silently apologized to her broken friend… but she could do nothing at this point.

For it was Hitsuzen.

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Even on the day my body vanishes, this love won't disappear  
Even the flowers will wither away, but this feeling will last long enough to take the place of 'eternity'

One thousand years of tears will drench my heart  
No matter how many times I'm reborn... until I can meet you again  
Before I awaken from this fantasy, you wave to me  
In the real world, morning comes and for an instant in time, I understand

One thousand years of wishes soar in the sky  
It's alright if they never come true, as long as I can meet you  
On a journey far away, I wander alone in the gentle breeze  
The rain that falls on the withered flowers conceals the sadness  
Even with a thousand years of love,  
I can't fully express my feelings for you  
When the moon can't be seen in the night sky, I'll be able to meet you

One thousand years of feelings, living on in a song  
So that someday, when I'm reborn, I'll be able to meet you

Sennen Koi Uta – Dong Bang Shin Ki

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A few months later…

Sakura watched as Uchiha Takumi taught the twins the basics of the Sharingan that they had gained recently. Kimihiro, now eight, also participated, listening attentively to the older Uchiha. She saw Daisuke out by the Storage room, having a bit of trouble pushing in the new payment he just got.

She then heard footsteps as Mito came in, a baby in each arm, "Gomenasai, Sakura-chan, but they just won't stop crying! Tobirama's at a meeting right now and I know that I promised I'd take care of them for a while but they just wouldn't stop crying," Mito apologized as she handed her second pair of twins to Sakura.

Now she knew if wasn't just a fluke, she must've had some twins in her family. Taking them in her arms, she smiled at them, Arashi, who had red eyes and white hair and Shun who had green eyes and white hair.

Oh yeah, she definitely has her hands full.

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"Thank you for teaching them, Takumi-kun, it really means a lot to me," she said, leaning her two babies onto her arms.

He smiled kindly at her, "it's my honor and pleasure Sakura-sama," he replied, taking a sip of his tea.

She frowned a bit, "You don't have to call me that anymore. I have no more ties to the Uchiha Clan… you don't have to be so formal anymore."

"Aren't we formal to those we respect?" he put his cup down, "Just because you no longer are an Uchiha, does not mean that our respect for you has disappeared along with it. You are still the matriarch who helped us rebuild our Clan after our head of clan betrayed us… not to mention, you are still a very dangerous woman."

"Thank you."

"And once again, it's no trouble at all." He looked out where the three young Uchihas were practicing, "they're really amazing, you know. Though I shouldn't be surprised considering their parenting, I'm really happy to be of some help to you in some way. Most of us greatly miss you and your presence." He told her, "We would've been at war with the Senjus ages ago if you weren't here."

"Oh, I don't think so. I believe on the contrary that because I was there, a war might've broken out. But thank you for standing behind me instead of Madara."

"I held great respect for him. But our clan has had enough of his ways. His hate completely consumed him… like a parasite growing everyday. I was afraid that if it went too far, the whole Clan would've paid for it."

Sakura nodded in agreement, trying to get her mind off of the Uchiha massacre.

The massacre that was born from hate and was doused by a terrible sacrifice.

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Tobirama lifted his son above his head, smiling when the little one giggled happily. He brought him down and kissed him on the cheek before putting him back into the crib next to his brother. He ran a hand in each of their hair as they closed their eyes and sighed tiredly.

"You okay?"

He nodded as his wife approached him, looking down into the crib.

"I should be the one asking you that. You've become more restless than usual." He ran his thumb under her tired eyes, "You usually sleep a few hours despite your insomnia but lately… you haven't been sleeping at all. Should I be worried?"

"No, you shouldn't," she leaned into his touch a bit then slapped his hand away, he was surprised by the act, "But I am a little sour that you haven't told me about all your plans as Hokage." She almost pouted.

The white-haired man sighed tiredly once more, "I've been meaning to tell you, Sakura but you already had your hands full with the kids and I didn't want to burden you any more than I have to."

She glared at him, "If you really want to unburden me, then tell me. I get that you're trying to look out for me… but don't think that hiding things will lessen my burden. Alright?" she put a hand to his cheek.

"Yeah, sorry," he kissed her gently, then a smirk played on his face, "Let me make it up to you," he whispered huskily into her ear as he led her out of the nursery and into their room.

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One year later…

Tobirama was working on some paperwork, a seemingly permanent frown on his face. Who wouldn't have a frown on their faces when they were doing this job? Honestly, sometimes he wondered why anyone would want to stay behind a desk for hours on end reading and writing. His eyes glanced at the picture frames on his desk, to try and break from the bleak black ink and white parchment. There were four of them. One was with his brother, when they were still bachelors, his brother's arm around his shoulder as they smiled; another was right after Hashirama's wedding so Mito stood in between the two brothers. The third was a picture of him with the five boys, Kimihiro and the Uchiha twins, his twins were in Sakura's arms, who was right next to him. The last, and most recent, taken three months ago, was of him and Sakura, between them was the newest addition to their family, named Hikaru, still at the hospital.

There was a knock at the door while he was giving his signature on one of the papers and without looking up, he called out 'come in'. He heard the creak of the door opening and light footfalls. Placing the Hokage's seal on the parchment, he finally looked up and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Akira-kun," he looked at the seventeen year old, "Is there something wrong?" he asked. It was unusual to see him in the Hokage tower, only Ashido and Haruki were regular sights here.

The blond smiled, "No, nothing's wrong. I came by… to maybe talk, if that's possible. I mean, you're the Hokage, I know but, um, I just didn't know when to ask you about this without the others around."

The Nidaime blinked and gave a smile, "It's alright, it's my lunch break anyways, sit down," he motioned to the chair in front of his full desk. The teen sat down, "So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could have, like a day off from being Hokage…"

"A day off? Well, I am entitled to a few days off…" he replied, not knowing where this was going.

Akira looked up at him, "There's this place… that we go to. It's… kinda like a tradition for us to go there and spend the day. So I was just wondering… well…"

"Ah," the white-haired man hummed in understanding, "I'll make sure I'm free next week."

His green eyes lightened up, "Really?"

"Of course."

"Thank you!" he exclaimed and shot off to the door.

"Wait, Akira! Why didn't you want to ask me in front of everyone else?" it was puzzling, it was a very simple question and it concerned the whole family.

The teen paused, gave a smile, then poofed out of the room, leaving a slightly shocked and confused Tobirama.

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The white-haired Hokage looked at the 'paradise' in awe; he never knew such a place existed. Looking down at the greenery and the water, he could definitely admit that this beat the estate's garden and pond.

He watched the kids who were seemingly hyper for their age; they were all laughing and bouncing everywhere. Even the usually calm Ashido was laughing away with his brothers. He looked beside him to his wife who had the most peculiar expression. He was about to ask if she was alright when he heard, more than saw, Haruki shout 'Banzai!' before jumping off the cliff, followed by his younger brothers while Daisuke picked up Kimihiro and Ashido the Uchiha twins.

Sakura giggled, "It feels nice to be back here… tell me… who was it that asked you to have two day's vacation?" she turned to him.

He scratched his cheek, "Caught red-handed. It was Akira. He came to the office last week and asked me if I could take a day off from work. He looked so happy when I told him I could." He of course noticed the nostalgic and melancholic expressions the family all had on their way up and put two and two together. "He said that it was a tradition for you to come here," he said carefully and watched his wife's expression, "But… something tells me that it's been a while since you've been here."

She gave a sad smile and shifted Hikaru in her arms, "The last time we were here… was the last summer the kids spent with…" She didn't have to finish the sentence for him to understand. She took a deep breath and looked over to the portable beds where the Senju twins were sleeping blissfully, "They just want to be reminded of happier moments, preferably with you. You've been… like a father figure to them." She frowned, "They've never been close to Madara, so he's never been here. He never really cared about them and went on as if they were just guests at the Estate instead of my children, ignoring them."

He nodded in understanding and was about to say something when Akira appeared, floating in mid-air and yelled at them, "You gonna stay there all day, Nidaime?" he shouted, waving at his mother.

Tobirama turned to his wife who smiled and nodded him off, "Go on, I'll be fine with the kids."

He gave her a kiss, "We'll switch later."

"Yeah," she agreed and watched as he went over and calmly stepped off the edge. She felt a tug at her hair and looked down at the mismatched eyes of Hikaru, "What is it? You wanna join Tou-san? Sorry, but you're a little too young for that…" she cooed, "Maybe next year," she whispered.

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"Tobirama!" the young blond shouted and waved him over. The man went and approached the boy who was still floating in the air a few feet above the water.

The white-haired man crossed his arms across his chest, "I know about your little white lie, Akira-kun," he said.

The blond lost his smile and went down until he was standing on the water, "Sorry… I just…" he smiled sadly, looking a bit like his mother, "It's been a long while since we've been here and… I just wanted…" he put his head down.

Tobirama put a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright, I'm not upset or anything. Thank you for inviting me to this place. I know it's special for your family and I'm honored to have been one of the few who've been here."

The blond smiled, "Kaa-chan… when she adopted me, I was one year old. My parents had been killed during a war in our little village and one day, on one of her missions, Kaa-chan found me… healed me… and took me home with her. That home was my special place. When… when our home was destroyed and we had to leave… I was really sad. One day, I was mad because I didn't understand yet why we had to leave, so I ran away." He pursed his lips, "I knew that it was a stupid thing to do, but I still ran. I ran and ran until I was so tired that I finally stopped. I then realized that I was lost. I think that's the day I cried the most. Trying to find my way back home again, I wandered around and… I stumbled across this place." He motioned to the surrounding.

"Back then, there were still wild animals around, so I was scared of being eaten. Here's where, for the first time in a long time, I felt happy. Because it was so calm and so nice. It was here that the others found me." He grinned, "I think that that was the day I ever saw Ashi-nii really worried for me. I mean, he worries about us but doesn't show it anymore. Anyways… this place means a lot to me and to the others. And you're right… only special people that we love are allowed to and able to come here." He beamed.

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"Looks like you've already won Akira's love."

Tobirama looked back at the older blond and his almost twin after having been ambushed by Akira, shaking out the excess water in his hair. Kaito was holding out a towel for him to take, he took it gratefully.

He then chuckled as he stepped onto dry land, "He's very energetic."

The eighteen year old blond scoffed, "This is nothing, you should've seen him when he was little. He couldn't stay still for a second without bouncing around and breaking everything. He's still like that when he battles. Don't get fooled by the innocent kiddie act. He's probably the most mischievous out of all of us."

"After you, Haru-nii," the blue-haired teen added with a laugh.

Tobirama nodded and turned to Haruki, "Has Akira already gone on missions? I know that you and Ashido have been going on official missions for Konoha for the past four or so years."

Haruki nodded, "He's had a few, before you came into power."

Kaito laughed, "Yeah, but we've had a few complaints about his behavior."

"A few?" the blond scoffed, "On the missions, his teammates almost didn't have any time to get into some action 'cause Akira would have already taken them out. Sometimes, he was so hyped up that they almost got caught in the crossfire!"

"Really?" Tobirama was surprised at the information.

"Since then, he's never really had a want to go back onto the field until he's ready to head out solo or with one of us. Anyways," Kaito said, partially glaring at his brother, "Don't be a hypocrite, Haru. You're the one who set the example of 'fight first, think later'. Akira just copied off you." He shook his head, "That's why no one wants to go on missions with you and you only get low class solo missions."

The older glared at him.

The Nidaime chuckled at their antics, "I'll see if I can find solo missions for you that are a little more challenging."

"Or better yet! Find him a partner who'll keep him in check!" Kaito said.

"I'll try," Tobirama promised. "You guys seem really close together, is it because you're the same age?"

Kaito and Haruki shared a look before the former replied, "We have a… common history." Kaito looked at his brother for permission before continuing, "We came from the same village. Like all of the others, our villages had been destroyed when Kaa-chan came and took us in." He paused, "We were only babies so we don't really remember… but she said that we were the only survivors in the nursery at the hospital that day. We don't…" he bit his lip, "We never met our parents and… you could say we're pretty close after that, right, Haru?"

The blond just grunted, "Call me nii-san, after all, I _am_ older."

"Yeah, by two days."

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"Not too bored, Daisuke?"

The teen looked up, putting a hand over his eyes to block out the sun's glare, "Not at all, Tobirama."

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

Daisuke just scooted over from his perch under the tree so his step-father could sit down.

"What are you reading?" he asked, noting that this was a new book.

"Spirited Away," he replied.

"What is it about?"

"Well, it's about a young girl, Chihiro, who gets thrown in a 'Spirit world' to look for her parents who were turned into pigs. She then has to work for a witch named Yubaba to try and free her parents."

"Hmm… you like those fantasy world spirit books, don't you? The last book you were reading also talked about spirits."

"Uh, yeah… I'm very interested in them," he replied, glancing around the place.

"Ah… may I ask you a personal question?"

Daisuke raised an eyebrow, "How personal?"

"About your career choice."

"Oh. You probably want to ask me why I chose to not fight and be a Shinobi like the others… right?"

"Well… yes." Tobirama looked up at the teens who were using their affiliated elements to try and dunk each other under the water. Kaito had a big advantage since he was the pro and could just master a wave over the others' heads. Poor Haruki though was not in his element and got dunked by everyone else.

"All your brothers are very avid Shinobi: Akira's been on a few missions but seems to take it as a game; Kaito's a medic-nin and Haruki's on his way to becoming a Jounin. As for Ashido, I'm thinking of recommending him for Anbu already. Let's not forget about your mother…" he shuddered, remembering the first time he saw her fight years ago. "I'm not here to judge you, Daisuke, I swear that on my honor, but… I'm just curious as to why you decided not to follow your family. I'm certain you're aware that your step-brothers will undoubtedly follow the same path as well, taking into account that they come from very prominent Shinobi lineages."

The bespectacled boy smiled and sighed almost tiredly, "Did you know… I was the last one of us five to have been adopted by Kaa-chan?"

"You were?" the man was surprised.

"Yeah, she adopted me when I was four… Ashido was first, then came Haruki and Kaito, after that, there was Akira and finally me. I've been with this family the shortest amount of time of the five of us. But, I was the oldest in terms of age. She had adopted Ashido at three years old." He laughed hollowly, "I know she loves me… and I love her so much. But… for all the thinking in the world, I just can't understand why she chose me."

He put his book down and folded his arms on his bent knees, "We were at least twenty… at that orphanage. Kaa-chan had come in on a rainy day, probably from a mission and asked if she could stay and recuperate, before heading on home. They accepted. The others kids were very interested in the Shinobi who came. My village was big enough to be a nice trade route but not enough to attract Shinobi and the like so her presence was mystifying, to say the least. I remember all the kids, especially the boys rounding around her, asking her questions."

He smiled, "I was probably the only one not interested. Books were the only things that kept me company back then so I ignored her and read. Soon enough, the kids were told to go to sleep. I never was really for 'bedtime' so I just stayed in the tiny library, reading. I didn't know what time it was when she had wandered into the room."

He laughed at the memory, "We almost couldn't fit in there. She asked me what I was doing up when everyone was already asleep. I answered that it was the only time I could read without being interrupted and without any loud noise. Then the strangest thing happened: she smiled at me. She smiled at me like she was actually happy that I had disobeyed the rules like I did."

Chuckling, he continued, "We talked the whole night… and when morning came, I woke up in my bed. I thought I had dreamed it all. When I went downstairs with everyone for breakfast, the woman who took care of the orphanage came in and asked for me. I was wondering if she had heard me in the library and was going to punish me, but when I came into her office, all I was met with was Kaa-chan's smiling face… then she asked me… if it would be possible to take me home with her."

A tear escaped Daisuke, which he quickly brushed away, "That was probably the happiest day of my life. I don't fight… because I know that if Kaa-chan could… she would stop fighting as well. I think she wants to go back to the days where her only problem was not having enough books in her library. Among other reasons… the main reason that I don't fight… is because I want to prove that you can be strong… without violence. Because Kaa-chan… she's trying her hardest so that the village and the people are safe, without using force. So even if I'm pretty much defenseless in this world, I would live knowing that I am the wiser man. Someone who stands for what I believe in but not fight to make others follow me. That's what I would like to accomplish."

"That's very honorable of you. You convictions will surely take you far."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

After all that talk about the past, Tobirama of course, quietly wondered what Ashido's past was. As he glanced at the teen, he noted that Ashido was the first one to have been adopted and that he seemed to be a male version of his mother. Calm, quiet and deadly. He continued on staring until the said boy turned to him, having felt the stares.

Ashido smirked and waved him over to him and the others.

Since he was just like his mother… then he probably won't tell him about his past. Sighing, he thought to himself that maybe this was a past he would rather not discover.

"Your kids are too intelligent for their own good," her husband said as he plopped down onto the towel and took Shun and Arashi from their protective cribs.

Sakura, who was nursing Hikaru laughed, "Oh? And how is that a bad thing?"

"Well, it's not necessarily bad. Daisuke's… very profound for his age."

"Ah… Daisuke. You talked to him?" she asked.

"Yeah, he told me how you two met," he replied, "He told me about how you had stayed up all night talking about books."

Sakura giggled, "Yes, that's right. The library was so small and Daisuke such an enthusiastic reader that he told me that he had read every book at least once. He's very intellectual and I'm proud of him. At first… he was scared of me."

"Scared of you? How could he be scared of you?" Tobirama asked in surprise.

"Well, in his village, it was normal for Shinobi to come into houses and kill people. Daisuke had gone through the trauma of watching his parents murdered. It took a while to convince him to come with me, actually. But…" she paused, "From the moment I saw him and after we had talked… I knew that he didn't belong in a place like that and that I would be happy to have him as a son."

"You had to convince him? You mean he didn't jump in your arms crying?"

"Oh no, he was one of the hardest to crack because of his intelligence. He doubted everything and everyone. He's very proficient in genjutsu and used that to hide his stuff at the orphanage. Though he's stopped using it now."

"Genjutsu? At four years old?"

Sakura shrugged and righted her kimono once Hikaru had finished, "He was a very paranoid child. At first, he didn't even trust his brothers and always stuck close to me. I had a vast library… he spent most of his time there before… before we left."

"I never would have guessed."

"Yes… those children have been through a lot; things that their younger brothers couldn't possibly understand," she said, "They're trying hard to protect the younger ones… so that they won't have to understand."

Tobirama sighed and looked at his wife, "And there are many things that I will never understand about you, Sakura," he concluded, leaning over to cup the back of her head and kiss her, "Many things that I would like to try and comprehend, but it's alright. Because all that I need to know is that I love you and this family."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura closed her eyes in concentration as the room shone an eerie green. Her chakra was almost depleted as she finished healing the numerous wounds on her husband's body.

He had been in a near death state when she found him, after having been to Kumogakure for a so-called 'alliance'. She had forgotten. She had forgotten and he had almost perished. The coup d'état delivered by the Gold and Silver brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

She bit her lip as she thought back to how she was writing up a new protective seal for her house when it hit her. The Nidaime Hokage had been ambushed at an alliance meeting in Kumo. A coup d'état had been organized by powerful demon brothers and they would try and assassinate all those who were in power.

With a break-neck speed, she ran to try and catch up with her husband who had already departed two days before. She had barely made it time as they were about to finish him off. She was weakened by her sprint to there, but had successfully escaped with Tobirama, leaving the brothers with a few injuries they would not soon forget.

She blinked away hot tears as his red eyes blinked open and gazed at her. With a harsh exhale, she launched herself into his arms.

"It's okay, darling… I'm here," he whispered to her, caressing her head.

Her grip on him tightened.

She got attached… more so than she had hoped…

How?

How was she going to be able to let him go?

It reminded her painfully of those days where she knew it was going to be the end… and so she did the most outrageous things… however morally wrong they were, to try and ease her pain. Something she would never forget.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

_It was wrong. It was so wrong. And yet, as cliché as it sounded, it felt so right._

_She was still breathing a little harshly after the climax of their activities, splayed out tiredly. She felt his lips slowly trace a line from her shoulder, up her neck, along her jawline, her cheek and finally resting above the blindfold covering her eyes. His body heat lowly moved away from her and the moment was over. He always ended it that way, never touching her lips, always caressing her face._

_She took a deep breath before slowly pulling the blindfold away from her eyes, in time to see him pull accustom-made dark blue wife beater over his chest and she turned her eyes away until she was sure that his mask was over his nose. Once she was sure of that, she turned back to him, watching silently as he stood up unabashedly to pull his boxers on and loose training pants over his hips. _

_After which he went back to the bed, aware of her stares and meeting her eyes. As a reflex, she immediately turned her body away from him and burrowed herself in the thin white sheet molding itself into her forms._

_She heard a sigh from behind her and tensed when he wrapped his arms around her waist through the sheet. She knew what was coming…_

"_Do you regret it?" he asked softly._

_She bit her lip, "Why would I?"_

"_Why would you not?" he replied._

_Her eyebrows furrowed, "Why do you ask me this question every time?" she asked slowly._

"_Because I need to know. Do you regret it?" he repeated, this time a little more insistent._

"_No… I don't."_

"_You don't sound convinced," she heard a semblance of sadness in his voice. "Are you at least comfortable around me?"_

_She shifted in his arms and he let her go as she sat up, pulling the sheets up to cover her body, whether from the cold or embarrassment, he did not really know. She stared at him long and hard._

"_No. I don't feel comfortable around you," she replied honestly. She saw his microscopic wince but ignored it. "I feel comfortable around Naruto. But no you… I feel safe with you." She continued, "No matter how much I deny it… deep in my heart, I know that I don't feel safe with Naruto. With you… I know that you'll protect me. I know that your emotions won't cloud your judgment like it does to him. That's why I feel safe with you… but not comfortable."_

"… _I see…" _

"_I hated you."_

_His eyebrows shot up and he couldn't help the shock from showing on his face._

"_I hated you so much because… you never looked at me," she began softly, "You only saw people with potential and I was not one of them. I… I felt so alone at times… when Tsunade-shishou couldn't train me… Naruto was gone… and the others had teams and families around them. For a time, I blamed it all on you." She broke his gaze and looked down, "That's why I had the feeling of indifference when it came to you. I didn't really care if you saw me or not… you were just there. So, when we met… that day… both of us, alone with the pain… I called out this proposition. And you accepted."_

_She took a breath and a small smile appeared on her face as she once again looked into his eyes, "And I _was_ indifferent… the first… second… third… maybe even the fourth time. But now…?" she shook her head, "I should've known that Haruno Sakura can't… isn't able to just be 'indifferent' to a person. And… against my will, I started caring for you. And I make sure that the people I care for are happy. And if… this relationship we have makes you happy… then I can't ever regret it."_

_She took the silk blindfold into her hand, "This... and your mask represent the need for me to distance myself from you. That was how I was able to continue this. You take away my pain and I take away yours 'no strings attached'. But I guess, now that I've told you all this…"_

_Letting her sentence hang and without waiting for a reply from his part, she threw the blindfold behind her and with both hands, slowly pulled down his mask. She traced his features for a moment and smiled._

_That was the end of him._

_He almost violently pulled her to him in a searing kiss. Their very first one._

_Of course, relationships such as these, especially in the midst of war were bound to end badly. That had been the only time when both were open to each other without masks covering their emotions. They did not know if you could call this 'love'… maybe a semblance of it… but not pure 'love'. It was fine for both._

_Hatake Kakashi had died the day after. _

_She found his body in the cold snow, already tinted red, when she was twenty-one. She had never forgiven herself because she knew, in some way, it was her fault. The blindfold held tightly in his frozen right hand would forever be the symbol of that._

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

There was a nagging at the back of my head…

It was telling me to wake up…

I tried to ignore it to the best of my power, after all, I still had work in that bloody office with those bloody paperwork the next day. Yet… my mind seemed to be alarmed.

Mentally sighing at my mind's restlessness, I opened my eyes.

The room was dark but I still felt the heat of the small stove heater still burning away behind me.

But that was all.

No Sakura.

Sitting up, my now alert red eyes scanned the room. Looking towards the burning log in the stove, I estimated that she had left the room half an hour ago. Sighing, I took my clumsily discarded robe from its place on the floor, putting it on, I left the warm room.

Once outside, I shivered with the cold winter bite. I contemplated the snow paved ground and grimaced as I saw the snowflakes slowly descending down. I tried to sense where my wife had gone with her chakra, but alas, she had masked it perfectly, as per usual. Jumping down gracefully from the elevated flooring, I ignored the cold and placed my palms face down flat against the snowy ground. Closing my eyes in concentration, I searched for her presence.

My eyes shot open quickly in alarm.

Without a second thought, disregarding the cold biting at my feet and my exposed skin, I ran towards where I had felt her faint presence.

When I got to the snowy clearing, I finally found her.

She was lying in the snow, on her side, one of her hands across her waist and the other had a fistful of snow in it; a thin white sleeping kimono was the only thing separating her from the cold.

"Sakura!"

I quickly went over to her, taking her into my arms. I flinched when I saw that her eyes were still open… empty… soulless.

I cupped her cheek, "Sakura…?"

She blinked, albeit slowly before turning her eyes to me but said nothing.

I swallowed, "… You'll freeze to death if you stay out here dressed like that… let's go home," I said, keeping my voice low and calm, as if I were talking to a frightened animal instead of a woman. Because I was sure that she was disoriented, showing any strong emotion at the moment would be an idiotic move.

Moving slowly, I stood up, taking her with me in my arms. With that, we made our way quietly but quickly back to their room. Once there, I deposited her gently to her knees near the fire then shuffled towards the closet. I picked out a new kimono for her along with a towel. Returning to her side, I stopped the need to worry as she just kept on looking at the fire.

Slowly, I reached a hand towards her, knowing that if I made any unpredictable and foolish move, she would do something drastic.

I slowly removed the wet kimono from her body and with the towel, started dabbing her damp body with it. I slightly cringed at the feel of her cold porcelain skin when my fingers would brush by it.

I then put the new, placed aside kimono, back on her body. Standing up, I refilled the stove with new wood and turned it up even more. Only looking back once, I left her to change into something warmer as well.

When I came back, she was still in front of the fire, silent.

There was a moment of tenseness as I felt the cold, dark chakra almost untraceable slowly dissipate from my partner's body. It was being slowly replaced by a warmer one, like a sandglass.

It was still a few minutes though, before her fingers twitched and she blinked hard. Her breathing suddenly became labored and her eyes were wide and lost as she looked around. Quickly turning her body, she looked at me in what I would name as frantic, desperate and fearful. With tears in her eyes, she had called out my name in her broken voice, dry and sore from the cold it had been exposed to.

My heart throbbed at that moment and I stepped noisily, showing some of my bound emotions. Falling down to my knees, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders pulled her to me.

And I held her as she cried and gripped onto me, her nails digging deep into my chest, but that mattered little. The pain I was feeling was probably not even a hundredth, no a thousandth of hers.

The only thing I could do was hold her in my arms and comfort her with sweet words… just like I always did.

I stroked her hair to calm her, I squeezed her lightly in my arms to show support and I let her grip to me hard enough to draw blood to let her know that I was real, I was here and that she was safe.

… It only happened at night.

She would suddenly disappear and I would find her half dead somewhere near the grounds. I would always find her on time and bring her back home in my arms where I would wait until she was lucid. After snapping out of it, tears would stream out of her eyes and sobs from her throat.

We moved to the futon where I gently laid her down next to me, one of my arms used as a pillow, the other held onto her waist.

"… Do you want to know why I'm like this… Tobirama?"

My eyes widened a bit at her voice. I looked down at her, but she was keeping her gaze on my chest.

It was the first time she had ever questioned me on it. No, it wasn't as if she didn't trust me. She had once confessed that out of all her husbands, she had trusted me the quickest, even before she was married to Izuna.

But her past…

It was something that was a taboo subject… even to her children. They said that their lives started with the home they had built at the base of the mountain. Nothing else, in their opinion, should matter to the outside world.

My relationship with Sakura was not solely based on love. It was also based on friendship, as odd as it sounds. There were times when we were lovers… and times when we were friends. We would be lovers when going out into the village: standing close to each other and show to the witnesses our commitment to each other; when we are playing with the kids; and when we were making passionate love at night.

But then…

There were the times when we would sit side by side and talk. Just talk. Because we needed it.

When my brother had died… I did not want a lover who would comfort me with her sweet body and her even sweeter words. No, I wanted someone I could talk to about the trauma of losing someone precious. I wanted to talk to someone who held no prejudice, someone impartial who would not just say: "It's going to be alright". I wanted a friend who would tell me:

"Life isn't fair and people die, deal with it."

Which was exactly what she had told me on that day, because at that moment, she wasn't the lover who was going to hold me in her arms later on and whisper the former words of comfort to me. No, she was going to be the blunt friend who would tell me to haul my ass out of the petty depression I was going through and take matters into my own hands, if I truly wished that something like this will not reproduce.

It was vice versa.

Sometimes, Sakura would seek me out, not to drop into my arms and let me ease her, but to talk to me about what her problems were outright. Like me, she wasn't looking for words like: "You'll get through this" and "Everything is going to be alright". She was looking for hard advice from a friend who may have gone through the same thing.

Of course, with her, it never concerned her past.

We had talked and contemplated many things as "friends". And it never got in our way of being "lovers".

That was how our relationship worked.

I did admit though, that at first, I was skeptical and had a hard time adjusting to it. At times, I would not know when I should be her "friend" and when her "lover" or to a certain degree, her "husband". After all, to us, "lover" and "husband" were also two different things. I was only her "husband" to society; it was a title that the people attributed to a married couple. But it seemed to not fit us. As her lover, I would do the things that a husband would sometimes only dream and fantasize about doing. As her "husband", I would restrain himself like any self-respecting man.

I sometimes wondered if she had called her previous husbands her "lovers".

Oh yes, I was quite jealous of her two previous partners.

After all, they had held her, touched her, loved her… owned her… way before I did.

I'm not going to give myself the illusion that out of all her husbands, no matter how quick she had trusted me, I was not the one who she had loved the most. I knew that and accepted that, as I have accepted the children who are not mine.

I held her in my arms tightly and thought about her question. Did I really want to know? Of course. I wanted to know what made her this unhappy, miserable and hurt.

I looked down at her.

"Only if you want to…" I replied at last.

She then buried her face deeper into my chest and whispered only one soft word:

Guilt.

This… it was something that neither her "lover" nor her "friend" nor her "husband" could resolve, not matter how much I wanted to. Even now, at this moment, I do not exactly know which one I am…

All I know though, is she needs me… and I'll always be here.

That is our balance.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura looked out the window of the Hokage Tower, the wide glass window in front of her gave way to the beloved village. But instead of seeing villagers strolling about, merchants yelling how their products were the best and children playing… it was deserted. Only shinobi walked through the streets and the rubble mess that once were buildings.

This was war.

"Sakura?" The Second Hokage called out surprised, "Why are you here?"

She didn't turn to him, "No particular reason. I've sent the kids somewhere safe, don't worry. Daisuke, Akira and Kaito are with them."

"…Just them?"

"They're all old enough to make their own decisions now."

"I suppose… do you… need anything?"

"…Not particularly."

"Okay, if you're sure. I'll be heading up towards Kumo, they need some backup."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at that but forced herself not to make any outward reaction, "Who… are the opponents?" she asked.

"I don't know yet, the only words on the only message we've received were 'Help Kinkaku Force'," he didn't notice the way she tensed as her fists balled up.

Her heart beat faster, "Oh… okay then." She heard his footsteps approach her and arms engulfing her. She tilted her head up as he leaned down and they kissed tenderly.

"I love you so much," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

You can shed tears that he is gone,  
Or you can smile because he lived,  
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back,  
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see him  
Or you can be full of the love that you shared,  
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,  
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember him and only that he is gone  
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on,  
You can cry and close your mind be empty and turn your back,  
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

He is gone – Davis Harkins

* * *

**Okay, we're moving along now, the first and second Hokages are dead and for those who are a bit skeptic about the kids, I promise you, Hikaru was the last, I repeat, Hikaru was the last x)**

**I would just like to point out that the flashbacks with Gaara and Kakashi were literally improvised. **

**For Gaara, even though I have written some scenes with him in other fics, I couldn't really get one that would fit into the context of the chapter. So I know the scene may be a little... bland and not enough for GaaSaku fans... I'll definitely write up something better in the future.**

**For Kakashi... so... my first try at KakaSaku... I don't really know why that was the scene that popped out of my head when thinking about them. I was actually pretty surprised once I finished the scene. I mean, when I think of Kakashi, I think sex on legs... pair that up with Sakura and my brain was like: Kakashi+Sakura=friends with benefits... lol.  
****Looking back, it seems to me like her relationship with Kakashi was the deepest one from her past... which is not true. Oh well. **

**For Tobirama... I wrote this chapter waaaaaaaaayy before the chapters with him came out so it was too late to change his personality to fit the manga. But I like my Tobirama. **

**I always like to define her relationships with the guys to show that none of them are alike and the love their shared with Sakura were always unique and gave her the happiness she needed in her life.**

**Hope you liked it and till next time~**


	13. Chapter 12

**So this chapter is special, at the time, I felt that the first five boys should have their own little side-story, like a development of their past. Instead, I decided to give them a 'day' to show who they truly are.**

**Warning: will contain mild shonen-ai/yaoi from here on out**

**If you prefer, you can just skip this chapter (reading Daisuke's part is enough to understand the future chapters) and go straight to Sakura's day.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Chapter 12:

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen  
Daisuke  
HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

He pushed against the items in the store before quickly sliding the door shut with a seal. He let out a relieved sigh, pushing up the glasses which had partially fallen off his face during his little 'exercise'. Looking at the door, he thought to himself that they definitely need a lot more space now. After thirteen years of doing this, the items just kept piling up and before he or his mother knew it, they had filled it completely.

"It could still fit?"

He turned and saw his mother, in her arms was Hikaru, their newest addition to the family. Yeah, another boy, which their mother wasn't too happy about since she had decided that Hikaru was probably going to be the last.

"Yeah, just had to force it a bit," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Hm… How about making more room then?"

Daisuke blinked, "More room?"

Sakura nodded, "I should have done it sooner I guess but I've been so busy. Anyways, I think you could do it. After all, your powers are growing steadily, a dimensional shift would be a good way to test out just how far your spiritual powers go."

"D-Dimensional shift?! N-No way!" he exclaimed, "My powers aren't ready for that kind of thing yet!"

"How do you know? You know how it works, don't you?" she asked him seriously.

He thought about it, "…Because…" he sighed, "A dimensional shift would require a lot of magic that would create more room inside a certain area. By moving this dimension and replacing it with another, we can have a larger room that neither exists in this world, nor the other."

"You know how it works and I've taught you the basic magic to use. So what's keeping you? There are souls and spirits who're waiting to give us more things!" she joked.

He laughed, "Yeah… you're right, Kaa-chan." He looked at the door determinedly, "I'll definitely do it!"

"Good," she smiled and ruffled his hair, "I'll be at Mito's house if you need me."

"Okay. W-wait! Where are the others, actually?" he asked, he had been trying to push some stray items into the storage room since early this morning so he didn't even notice that his brothers had gone somewhere.

"Ashido's in the village helping with the renovation. Kaito's probably at the hospital; Kimihiro, Kohaku and Kousuke are with Takumi for the day; Haruki's training."

"I see… you left the kids to Takumi?" Daisuke asked, not really believing that his mother would leave her sons alone with anyone.

"Rakuen and the lot are with them. I asked them to watch over the kids for the day," she replied. Hikaru struggled a bit in her hold as he woke up, "I'd better hurry up over there, it's almost breakfast and you know how cranky the twins can be when I'm not there." He gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Good luck but don't force it!"

"I won't!"

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Daisuke stood in front of the storage room, standing in a large intricate seal that greatly differed from Shinobi ones. He took a deep breath and with concentration, let out a bit of his magic. It swirled around him, feeding the seal around him until it started to shine gold. Picking up his power, he let out a breath and-

"Excuse me," a quiet voice said behind him.

His eyes opened suddenly and he lost his concentration. He sighed and turned to the spirit who was looking at him with pleading eyes. Oh, he knew what those eyes meant.

It meant that he would have another item he would have to force an object to fit into the small room.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

He plopped down tiredly onto the ground, not really caring for his clean clothes. The whole morning was spent granting wishes and whatnot. He looked at the items just lying on the ground, not even a speck of dust cold fit anymore. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and his temples while closing his eyes.

Another sigh left him and his nose twitched when a flower petal floated along his face and around his nose. He opened his blue eyes and looked up at the cherry tree planted next to the Storage room. He smiled as he remembered the day his mother and him had planted it.

_Twelve year-old Daisuke put a hand above his eyes to shade him from the sun's rays. It was way too hot in the Fire country and with all the sun, he was getting sunburn. And people wonder why he chooses to stay inside and read instead of getting heatstroke!_

"_Daisuke-kun," his mother called out as she approached him, "you okay with the heat?" she asked, brushing his red face._

_He nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay… what are you holding?" he looked at his mother's hand which was fisted as if she was holding something in it. _

_She looked down, "Ah, this," she opened up her palm to show one small seed. "The Spring Spirit gave it to me this morning as thanks for taking care of the budding flowers last week. It's a cherry seed."_

_He giggled a bit, "Not very original but payment is payment I guess. Does this one have any special properties?"_

_Sakura hummed thoughtfully, "It grows only with the help of magic. It feeds on it."_

_Daisuke stared at the seed, "Like chakra trees then?"_

"_Yes, in a way."_

"_So… we'll be able to use it for something someday?"_

"_Possibly."_

"_Then let's plant it!" he exclaimed. "But where?" he asked himself, looking around their home. Then his eyes diverted to the Storage room. It was his favorite place of the whole house or even the whole world… because it was his and his mother's only. His brothers didn't need to go in there or have any business there so it was just his mother and his. The one thing he has in common with his mother._

"_Over there! Next to the storage room!" he decided._

_Sakura raised her eyebrow, "Why there?"_

_He shrugged shyly, "Because after it grows, it can shade the storage room from the sun. It can protect it."_

_His mother smiled at him and kissed his cheek, "Next to the storage room it is then."_

_Finding an adequate place that would allow the tree to grow, they implanted the seed into the earth. Then, together, they began feeding the seed some of their magic. Daisuke concentrated hard on making sure that he didn't put too much at once or the seed would die. He looked up at his mother who was calmly running her hand on the ground as well to make sure the surrounding areas were suitable for its growth._

_He admired his mother even more._

Daisuke put his hand against the sturdy trunk, feeling the power surging through the bark, up the branches and into the leaves and flower blossoms. The branches reached out, just like he planned it, above the storage room like a roof. It protected the little shack from the sun and sometimes the rain. He looked up at the pastel pink of the fragile flowers and remembered the color of his mother's hair of back then.

Putting his glasses back on his face, he turned back to the seal still drawn on the ground. Taking a determined breath, he went over to it. Holding out a hand, he took a deep breath as he let the magic surge through his veins as once again, the seal shone a bright gold and his eyes turned slightly the same color.

He didn't take notice of his younger brother coming back home and watching him with amazed eyes.

Running through the steps in his head, he slowly counted to five and unleashed the totality of his power. The wind picked up as a mini tornado formed around him, blocking himself from view. He staggered a bit and furrowed his eyebrows when the seal seemed to be sucking out more and more of his powers when he wanted to stop. Grunting, he tried to cut off the link between it and him but it held on tightly.

He cursed and tried to step out only for it to shock him when he tried. He looked around him. This wasn't going to end well, he saw a portal starting to form in front of him and saw three symbols: the name of the dimension. He didn't know this one. Then he saw his blue-haired brother looking a bit panicked. He tried to smile reassuringly but he was getting faint with the loss of power. Looking around for something, anything, he apologized to his brother before taking his finger, he started drawing the symbols into the air. He looked back and saw Kaito cringe in pain as he held his arm. He felt the portal sucking him in and quickly finished writing.

Then he disappeared, only hearing his brother screaming his name.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen  
Haruki  
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"I'm off!" the sixteen year old exclaimed, his mother was at the dinner table, eating breakfast while holding onto Hikaru who looked up at them with heterochromatic eyes, one a light red and the other a light green. He bent down and gave his mother a kiss and pinched Hikaru's cheek, earning a pout from the baby.

"Alright, when will you be back?" she asked, looking up at her son who was going to travel to the mountainside some kilometers up north.

He shrugged as he strapped on his backpack, "I don't know, no more than a month though. I'll just be testing out a few things that I can't test out with the village nearby," he smirked.

"Just be careful then," she said, then looked down at the brown slightly shaggy wolf next to him, "Make sure he stays out of trouble, Chairo-kun."

The wolf bowed its head down respectfully then looked back up, "Will do, Sakura-hime!"

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Speeding through the trees, he grinned at the feeling of the wind against his face and the energy flowing through him. His mother had always chastised him about letting his chakra flow chaotically like that and always warned him that one day it would hurt him instead of help him.

"Haruki!" his wolf shouted, catching up and running beside his master, "Now, I'm not usually firm, I'm not like Ashido's wolf, but SLOW DOWN! The mountain's not gonna disappear!"

The blond laughed and did as he was told, turning to his wolf, "Relax, Chairo!"

The wolf grunted, "I'm sorry but… since that night I can't!"

Haruki frowned a bit, knowing what night he was talking about. He stared in front of him, "I'm sorry. I'll be more careful," he apologized then looked at his usually exuberant wolf.

The night Madara came and took Hayato, they tried their hardest and only ended up hurt. Chairo had received the worse end of it after Ashido since he was the only one standing between Madara and the kids after the others were down. Haruki had ordered him to protect their little brothers no matter what but in the end, he was pushed away like nothing. Haruki knew that Chairo had some insecurity about that, even though they've told him again and again that it wasn't his fault.

They all had been beaten and he wasn't the only one at fault. The wolf just couldn't really let go of it though and it took a one-on-one talk with Sakura before he could finally go back to his exuberant and mischievous ways.

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It took them one and half days to get to Earth country where he was intending to train, passing through grass country stealthily. Arriving, he looked at the obvious border between Grass and Earth, if the giant chain of mountain blocking off the country from others wasn't enough of a hint.

The blond smiled as he stepped onto the ground, "Sometimes I wish we were from Earth country," he said as he kneeled down and felt the ground, "A bit too dry but it'll do." Taking in the sights of the various rocky terrains, he sent a smile to Chairo, "Well, it's time to get to work!"

His wolf grinned, retracting his claws and digging them into the ground, "I can't wait."

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The next week was spent trying out some new techniques such as moving the ground under them without disturbing the surface. It was hard and he had only seen his mother do it where she would just run her feet across the ground, shifting it and when the opponent would step onto the area, it would crumble and she would cover the top of the hole quickly.

One of the other techniques was levitating boulders and such. It took a lot of chakra and he would rather just pick up the boulder with his bare hands and use it as a projectile but knowing to control it without touching it seemed cool enough.

On the sixth day of his personal training, it was one of the rare times where it would rain and the rain wasn't just a shower for a few hours, no, it was a full-blown storm. He sat in a cave; protected by seals made for him by Akira (he always gave his brothers some whenever they ventured out of the Fire country). They kept the small cave he was in near the top of a mountain warm, dry and concealed.

He sat by the entryway, eating a bird he had caught in the morning. Chairo was also munching on his own dinner.

"I hate the rain," Kazuki said.

"Me, too. At least we're not Fire element," Chairo said, brushing off crumbs from his muzzle with his paw.

Haruki nodded mutely and was about to take another bite when he felt chakras spike up. He paused and looked out into the rain. They had felt two groups of chakra a while ago near their area and it seemed like they weren't that much of friends. He shrugged and continued to eat when suddenly he felt something hit the barrier.

He raised an eyebrow and looked back at Chairo who was tensed. The wolf nodded at him to stay put and he'll check what it was. Haruki watched as his wolf disappeared behind the barrier. A tense minute later, Chairo came back, in his mouth a bird. The blond's raised eyebrows rose even further. Chairo tossed it to his master.

It was a Konoha messenger bird. Usually used on missions when they needed to relay an urgent message. Haruki saw that it was injured and couldn't really fly off anymore. He picked up the message from the bird's leg and opened it.

'Need reinforcements, earth country rogues' with their approximate coordination.

Chairo read it over his master's shoulders, "What should we do?"

Haruki stayed silent for a second then stood up, putting the bird carefully on the ground, "We save them of course. It's our duty." He tapped the forehead protector on his thigh, "And Kaa-chan would never forgive us if we just ignored this."

With that, they made their way out into the rain which had calmed down to a shower. Easily pinpointing where the battle was at, he sped his way through, not wanting to be late so he could brag that he saved a squad without any casualties.

Arriving there, he hid himself behind a rock formation, watching as two Konoha nin faced off against four rogue nins. Of course, apart from the unfairness of it all, it seemed like the two were holding their own but were quickly losing their energies.

"Tch, you had more chakra than we anticipated," one of the nuke-nins said, holding his bleeding arm.

The Konoha nin smirked and quickly did a series of hand signs. In a moment, the rain seemed to gather in his hand and he propelled it towards the nin. Haruki watched on with interest, not wanting to intervene yet as the nin who sent forward the jutsu gracefully took out two swords and began slashing away at two of the nins. The other Konoha nin took that as his cue and also began fighting back.

"Hm… maybe we weren't needed here after all," Haruki said to Chairo. The wolf was about to agree when they felt the chakras and saw three new nins appear in the clearing, all set out to kill the Konoha nins. "Or not." He stood up from his crouched position, "Let's go!"

The Konoha nins were being backed up against the rock formation, the nin with the two swords swore at the problem multiplication. They were done for. His partner was already pretty beaten up and he was running very low on chakra. He saw one of the new arrivals come forward and do an earth jutsu to trap them against the wall.

"Aw, did the adrenaline wear off already?" the one with the bleeding arm badgered. He took one of his two swords from his hand and went over to the Konoha nin. He raised it up above his head and brought it down. The Konoha nin closed his eyes.

A few seconds of nothing later…

He cautiously opened his eyes and gasped when he saw that the nin in front of him was being pierced by a spike of earth protruding from the rock holding him to the wall. The rogue nin had his eyes wide open in shock and looked down at the spike which slowly pulled out from within his chest before shooting out to try and attack the others.

The rogue nin all looked at each other warily, after all, they were the only ones present who with earth release and they were also traitors to their village. Then, another spike shot out, this time out of the ground and pierced another. As soon as that one appeared, the two who were left quickly backed up, dodging lethal spikes of earth.

The Konoha nins looked around trying to see who had saved them, or worse, who was keeping them for last.

Then they heard it, the distinct sound of someone sliding down earth. The four still alive looked up as a figure slid down the rock formation. He jumped and landed softly between the rogue nin and Konoha nin.

"Stop moving around! It's annoying!" the blond whined, Chairo landing right behind him, growling at the nins.

"Who are you?" one of them shouted.

Haruki gave them a grin, "Even if I told you, you won't live long enough to tell it to anyone else so why should I bother?" he said cockily.

The rogues fumed, "Kid, you messed with the wrong people."

The blond shrugged, "No, I messed with the stupid people."

With that insult, the nins went forward to attack the young man. Haruki just stayed in place, looking as bored as ever. The Konoha nins behind him told him to watch out but he heeded not the warnings.

He turned to the two nins going at him and counted in his head.

5….

.4..

..3..

…2.

….1

The ground below them broke and they fell into the hole, not wasting any time, Haruki went over and picked up a nearby boulder the size of a house and threw it on the opening. He then ran over to it and jumped onto the top, the rock sunk down even more and he waited a bit until the chakra signals from below faded out completely.

He jumped off and clapped his hands together to get the dust off. He then turned his eyes to the two Konoha nin who were now apprehensive as he approached. Noting their nervousness, he grinned at them.

"Sorry I'm late!" with a flick of his finger, the ground holding them broke away to pieces, "Your bird kinda was a little slow." He purposely brushed over the head protector around his thigh.

The nins' eyes widened, "Y-You're the reinforcement?"

Haruki huffed, "Don't look so surprised by it. Be grateful that the bird crash landed when I was there or else you'd be corpses I'd find the next day! Now come on, you guys must be tired."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Thank you for saving us. I'm Kuromori Ryuuzaki, by the way," it was the Konoha nin who used the double swords. He had shoulder length dark blue hair that was pulled up and tied off at the top of his head, long feminine bangs hiding his forehead and two strips of hair to frame his face so he had an androgynous charm to him. He couldn't have been more than in his twenties. His ears were pierced with blue studs and he had a spider bite piercing on the edge of the right side of his lower lip. But what really brought Haruki's attention was the color of his eyes… a mysterious and deep grey…much like his own.

He then pointed to the man who was sleeping on the cave floor, "And that's Endou Kojiro."

"Haruki," the blond greeted, passing the man some food.

Ryuuzaki blinked, "Just Haruki?"

"I had a last name but we don't really use it anymore," Haruki replied vaguely.

"I see… Haruki… like spring?"

"Yeah, like clear up, shine," he replied back.

Ryuuzaki smiled charmingly, "It's nice."

Haruki reddened a bit and looked away, "Thanks… so… what were you doing all the way out here? Only two of you, too. The relationship between countries isn't that smooth yet."

The man nodded, "I know. We were five when we left for this mission."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Haruki said.

There was a silence.

"And what are _you_ doing out here? Alone," Ryuuzaki looked up a little accusingly at Haruki. After the war, many chose to change sides or just become rogue nin so it was pretty common to run into old comrades on the battlefield.

The blond put his hands up in innocence, "I'm here to do some personal training."

"Did you get the Hokage's permission?"

Haruki scratched his cheek, "Not exactly…"

He was caught off guard when Ryuuzaki suddenly jumped and pinned him to the ground, for someone who was injured, he was agile. His head hit the ground a little hard and it made him cringe but then he looked up fuming at the man.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed.

The blue-haired nin just kept him on the ground, "And how do I know you're not just gonna go and sell information to Iwa?" He leaned down close to the younger.

Haruki glared, "As if!" he turned his head, "Kaa-chan would kill me if I did something like that," he mumbled.

"Kaa-chan?" Ryuuzaki repeated.

Haruki shook his head, "Nothing. And anyways, if I was going to sell information, I would've just let you two rot instead of wasting my precious time saving your ass!"

Ryuuzaki seemed to think about it, still pinning him to the ground, "I guess you're right. Sorry."

The blond harrumphed then finally seemed to notice just how suggestive their position was, "N-Now get off me! It's weird!"

The older man looked down at the blushing blond and laughed at his pouting face, "So cute!"

"I am not cute!"

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"Are you sure, Kuromori?" Kojiro asked. The rain was a light shower still and Haruki predicted that it was going to worsen afterwards.

Ryuuzaki nodded and gave him a thumbs up, "Yeah, I'll wait for our envoi here, he should be coming by in a few days. Anyways, you need to get back home and get yourself healed. I don't think your wife would be too happy to have her husband missing, Kami knows she's worried enough as it is."

The man nodded, "Alright then," then he turned to Haruki, "Thank you again for saving us. Please take care of him."

"Hey! I'm older! You should be saying that to me!" Ryuuzaki whined.

Kojiro and Haruki just looked at the man in disbelief, "Yeah, right."

Kojiro bowed once more and left, leaving the two by themselves.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

In the two weeks waiting for the envoi, they engaged in small talk, mostly about trivial things.

"What's your favorite food?" Ryuuzaki asked.  
"Anything my mother cooks," Haruki replied.  
"Favorite color?"  
"Grey."  
"…Hmm… favorite time of the day?"  
"Sunset."  
"Why?"  
"Why? Because… its not too cold and not too warm. I don't like extreme temperatures."  
"Aw, you're sensitive," Ryuuzaki teased.  
"Shut up you idiot!"

Ryuuzaki chuckled, "Aren't you gonna ask me anything?"

Haruki shrugged, "I don't really wanna know."

"Oh I think you do," Ryuuzaki teased some more. "Well, imma tell you now."

"I said I don't wanna know!"

"My favorite food's takoyaki, my favorite color's blue, my favorite time of day is, what do ya know, sunset, too!"

"…Why?"

"I thought you didn't want to know anything about me," he teased, smiling slyly.

"Idiot!"

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"What rank are you?" Haruki asked, looking out into the storm.

"Jounin. And you?"

"Same."

"What? You? How old are you, fifteen?" Ryuuzaki asked.

Haruki popped a vein and turned back, "I'm eighteen!"

Ryuuzaki looked surprised, "Seriously? You look younger than that. Are you lying to me?"

The blond grunted, "I would get nothing out of lying to you. My family just doesn't age as fast as an average person, that's all." He couldn't tell him that they all looked young because they were immortal.

"That's cool, I'm twenty-two," the brunette informed him. "Where'd you learn all those moves anyways?" He referred to when he had saved them.

"My mother," Haruki replied.

"Wow, mother here, mother there, your mother's a pretty strong woman then, or do you just have an Oedipus complex?" he whistled.

Haruki chuckled, "Strong doesn't even describe the quarter of it," he said then glared, "I do not have an Oedipus complex!"

Ryuuzaki was about to ask more when they felt the chakra spike of their envoi. Standing up, both made their way towards him.

After giving the whole report, the person nodded and informed them that another squad will already be on their way to finish the mission they half completed. They returned back to the cave and tried to shake off the water.

Their playful banters had become very comfortable over the past few days but neither really minded. Ryuuzaki plopped down onto the ground, "How embarrassing, only being able to finish a mission halfway!"

Haruki grunted, "I think that's better than not finishing it at all," he sat down on the ground against the wall. "Achoo!"

"We should take off out clothes or else we'll get sick," Ryuuzaki said and without further ado pulled his shirt over his head.

"W-What do you think you're doing?" Haruki stammered as Ryuuzaki began to take off his pants as well.

"What do you _think_ I'm doing?" he asked unabashedly.

Haruki covered his eyes, "B-But!" He gasped out in surprise when he felt slightly cold hands take hold of his shirt and pull upwards. His arms seemed to have a mind of their own as they willingly lifted up so that the shirt could get off. Next were his pants. "Wait!" With swish of his hand, earth came up and put an efficient barrier between Ryuuzaki and him.

"Woah! Don't be such a baby, Haruki-kun!" he heard the older from behind the wall. "Come on! It's not like you have something to hide!" he teased.

Haruki reddened, "Shut up! I'm keeping my pants on!"

"…Suit yourself. Just don't blame me if you catch a cold! Now… would you let down this wall?" he asked in a normal, non-teasing tone.

Haruki huffed but the earth wall started to go back where it came from, revealing him to Ryuuzaki. He crossed his arms across his chest and turned away from Ryuuzaki.

The dark-haired man smiled, "You're so cute when you're mad!"

"I am not!" Haruki shouted back indignantly.

Ryuuzaki's eyes roved innocently over the boy then stopped at a scar on his right hip. It was a clear long one that seemed very old like it was done by a knife.

Haruki felt his staring and instinctively put a hand over the scar. Ryuuzaki looked up at the blond, "That's a pretty old one."

"Yeah…" He gasped when he felt a hand on top of his own and cursed himself for not noticing Ryuuzaki sneaking up behind him.

"I don't like that look on your face," he older man whispered and brushed over the scar.

Haruki squirmed, pushing his hand away, "Stop it," he said softly. He then pushed him away, "Please."

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The next few days were a bit awkward for the two. They had no more obligations to stay since Ryuuzaki had already talked to the envoi and Haruki felt that he had trained enough.

"I'm sorry if I came on too strong, Haruki-kun," Ryuuzaki said as they packed up, the rain had stopped a day ago and they had to make route before it restarted since it usually would rain nonstop for a month then none for another three or four.

The blond said nothing.

"Haruki, please stop ignoring me," Ryuuzaki pleaded as he watched the other rip off the seals on the cave entryway. With that, Haruki began walking away, his wolf giving Ryuuzaki a warning glance. Annoyed with the turn of events, Ryuuzaki just followed him silently.

They didn't talk to each other for the remainder of the trip across Earth and Grass country. Ryuuzaki finally cracked when they had reached Fire country. He grasped the blond's arm and pulled him to a stop.

"What do you want?" Haruki hissed.

"…I want you to talk to me," he answered earnestly, tightening his hold a bit on the wrist in his hand.

"I'm talking to you now, aren't I?"

Ryuuzaki let out a loud aggravated sigh, "Tell me, Haruki, have you ever been in a relationship before?"

Silence.

"Have you ever gone out with someone before?"

Silence.

"Have you ever felt different around someone before?"

Silence.

"Okay. So, let me be blunt, do you know what we've been doing the past three weeks?" he asked.

Haruki frowned, "Annoying each other…?" he replied, turning it into a question.

Ryuuzaki wanted to face palm, "You really hadn't a clue? Not a thing?"

"…What exactly is your point?"

"My point is that we've been flirting the whole time and you had no idea you were even doing it!" the dark-haired finally blew up.

Haruki's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened comically, "Flirting?"

Ryuuzaki rolled his eyes, "Yes, flirting! You know, with the teasing and the asking questions and the blushing and everything! God, you're eighteen and goddamn attractive, you're supposed to know these things already! Girls must be flocking at your door!" he exclaimed, some jealousy seeping out from his last words.

The blond just stood there a little perplexed.

"Say something!"

"…You… think I'm attractive?"

"Of course I think you're attractive! But I actually failed to notice you were straight!" he told him and the second part more to himself.

"I'm not straight," Haruki said without thinking then blushed, "I-I mean I haven't been in a relationship to actually say if I'm straight or not! I really don't know how to react to this!"

Ryuuzaki just stood there, a little miffed about all this, then his eyes softened a bit, "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. It's just…" he chuckled, "it might sound weird and it's only been three weeks that we've known each other… but I like you."

Haruki's face turned red, "Don't say that so casually!"

The dark-haired nin chuckled again, "How about this. I know you're not experienced and you can't really choose yet… but, how about trying it?"

Haruki blinked, "Trying… what?"

"Trying this. Go out with me. If it doesn't work then it doesn't. But you'd be able to figure out at least _something_ about your tastes!" he exclaimed.

Haruki stayed quiet a while, "But… I don't know..."

"Do you enjoy being with me? Talking with me?" he asked.

The blond nodded.

"Do you feel comfortable around me?"

Nod.

"Do you think I'm attractive?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Just answer it!"

"…yes…" he mumbled, earning a grin from the older male.

"Right now, do you trust me?"

Haruki looked up at the question. Trust was something completely different. Trust isn't just a word, it is something very dangerous. Trust is something only given to those you know will not and will never turn against you.

His head was against it, relaying all the traitorous acts of the past of people he thought he could 'trust'. But…

Looking into Ryuuzaki's eyes, somehow, the opposite answer came to him.

"I… trust you."

"Then accept."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen  
Kaito  
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The blue-haired eighteen year old looked at the slightly looming building in front of him. The newly refurbished Konoha Hospital was well on its way, thanks to the help of his mother. She had helped in its installation back when the village was still under construction and helped the medics, who got recruited, to hone their skills.

"Ah, Kaito-san!"

The young man turned at the call of his name; in front of him stood the current head of the hospital, Doumoto Goro.

Kaito bowed slightly, "Doumoto-sensei," he greeted. The elder man in his fifties smiled in a grandfatherly way, "Ready to start?"

The blue-haired fidgeted a bit, "Yeah… Kaa-chan said that I should get on the job practice from now on."

Goro hummed, "You've only worked on your brothers and some of your mother's patients up till now, right? That's what Sakura-sama told me."

"Yes, that's right," he confirmed.

"But you're Sakura-sama's son and you've been training with her since you were little so you shouldn't have much of a problem," the elder man huffed and smiled, "have more confidence in yourself. You're probably more experienced than most of our medics here. Now come on in, we're not going to save lives by standing outside, are we?" He then began pushing the young man towards the hospital doors.

Kaito hadn't yet stepped foot into this Konoha Hospital… but he did remember his first time entering Kaa-chan's beloved hospital.

"_We need more blood over here!"  
"Vital organs are stable!"  
"This one's shooting!"  
"Get the crash cart!"  
"We need some morphine over here!"  
"Clear!"_

_Various voices were shouting here and there as little three year old Kaito pocked his head out from his mother's office. Silently closing it again, he backed up and sighed. Kaa-chan was busy healing a squad that just came in still, promising that they would go out for ice cream later. His other brothers were at home sick, and since he couldn't stay there since it was dangerous for his health. _

_Of course, you would wonder why she would bring him to the hospital, which had a greater risk. The answer was simple. This way, she could monitor him and protect him in the hospital instead of letting him catch what his brothers have and fall sick even worse in their home a million miles away._

_Looking around his mother's office, he noted that the thing that stood out the most were the shelves. The three walls, save for the wall where the door was were just shelves filled from top to bottom with medical books, scrolls and folders. A protective seal was put on the ones old of age. In the middle of it all, kept neatly by his mother was a wooden desk, on it nothing but three stacks of paper, writing utensils and stamps._

_The office was usually kept neutral for the head of the hospital could change at any given moment, his mother had told him. The head has the responsibility of the whole hospital, but sometimes, like her, they were also field Shinobi, so they usually have a second, which, in this case, was their Aunt Shizune._

_The little boy made his way to one of the shelves and took a book out randomly._

_Types of Medical Jutsu_

_Opening it, he skimmed through the pages. It showed various types of healing jutsus from the basic to the most advanced. It didn't go into the details but it showed enough information. Interested, he took the book and climbed onto the comfortable swivel chair, flipping to the first page, he began reading._

He smiled at the memory, it had started with curiosity, he mused, then he finally made a choice once he saw his mother in practice…

_Everything was quiet all of a sudden outside._

_He stopped reading and looked up curiously at the door as if it was going to open up and show him why things have gotten so calm so suddenly. Putting down his book on the desk and carefully climbing down the chair, he once again poked his head out of the room. There was no one all of a sudden. _

_Looking around, he glanced back at the room one more time before sneaking out, closing the door behind him. Walking along the large hallways past hospital beds left on the side haphazardly and crash carts, he stopped when he came to a wide open doorway. He looked down at his feet where a bright red line was drawn, telling him that he shouldn't cross it. _

_But then he heard his Kaa-chan._

"_Just make sure that they're stable for now, I only need a few minutes for this, understood?" the strong commanding voice said._

"_Yes!" was the immediate reply._

_Looking down at the glaring red line again, he fought with himself. He wasn't even allowed to go out for his own safety._

"_Kaito-kun?"_

_The said boy looked up suddenly with big eyes at the woman he called Aunt. The black-haired medic approached the little one, "What are you doing here? Are you looking for your Kaa-chan?" Shizune asked._

_He nodded mutely, running his foot along the tile floors. Shizune smiled at him, "You really want to see her, don't you?"_

_Another shy nod._

"_Come on then. It shouldn't be much of a problem if you watched this," she held out her hand to the toddler who immediately put his small hand in hers as they crossed that red line. _

_The noise started up again as medics seemed to be aligning all the injured of the hospital in one room. Some were still healing, making sure the patient wouldn't go under in the few minutes that his mother said she required. _

_The two walked along the wall to make sure they weren't getting in the way and they settled themselves near the corner. _

_Kaito's attention of course, wandered to his mother, who was writing down seals on the pearly white floors of the spacious room, usually used for emergencies. He tilted his head, it was rare that he would see his mother at work in the hospital. He found that she had a very different feel to her, even if he was only a toddler, he partially understood adults, as complex as they were._

_Kaa-chan had her long pastel hair in a braid down her back; her eyes were grave and concentrated on the complex seals she was designing, two medics flanking her. She looked up and glanced over at the two for a moment but quickly returned to her work._

"_Is everyone ready?" she called out. There were shouts of accord. "Good, now, medics, you know the roll! Stick to the walls and be prepared to help if one of them goes under before I'm finished."_

_With that, she seated herself cross-legged in the middle of the seal and closed her eyes. The air tensed up and little Kaito could practically feel the power radiating off his mother. In one fell swoop, she had cut her wrists with chakra scalpels and, using the blood which flowed out of her alarmingly, she covered her fingers in it and proceeded to design seals with her blood on the space left blank in front of her._

_It wasn't until two minutes later that she was finished then closing her wrists up like it was just a paper-cut._

_A second later found her slapping her hands down harshly on the ground as her chakra swirled around her. It augmented in power as she went through various hand seals known by memory already. _

_Soon though, her chakra became a blinding light and almost everyone had to shield their eyes._

_But Kaito looked a bit longer._

_Then he saw it… his mother's greatest healing technique that would forever be engraved in his mind as it was also the reason he decided to pursue healing._

"Kaito-kun?"

He blinked at the call of his name and looked forward to where the elder doctor smiled at him, "Come now, it's high time that Konoha indulges in your talent."

Brushing back a piece of his blue hair, he stared down at the bright red line in front him.

He was going to make his mother proud.

After all, if it weren't for her, he would be dead.

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He wiped the sweat that matted his forehead on his sleeve, a nurse quickly following by sponging his forehead and neck. He couldn't stop to thank her though as he kept pushing his chakra into the Shinobi who was in a critical state: a pierced lung with four broken ribs and one had actually managed to puncture the heart so he had his work cut out for him.

Pulling away the bone from the vital organ carefully, his eyes narrowed as it seemed like he was doing more damage than healing. Stopping one second to get his bearings back, he willed himself to calm down.

"_A panicked medic is a useless medic. If you can't keep yourself under control, how will you be able to think clearly and make the right decisions? Panic is something that doesn't and shouldn't exist in a medic. Even if your patient is a minute from dying, you must keep calm and do your best. No matter what the result."_

Those were his mother's words of advice; the one that she had told him when he had panicked upon seeing a patient arrive at their home once when he was five, on the verge of dying. His mother had quickly taken the head of things with calm as he rushed out to get the equipment necessary for the surgery.

In his haste though, he had tripped over his own feet and slid across the ground next to his mother. He then received one of the most serious looks from his mother but she did not say anything to him until her patient was out of danger.

It was one of the earliest lessons that were "drilled into him" as his mother had so gracefully put it.

Taking a relieved breath when he succeeded, he smiled to himself as the man regained a steady pulse.

Then there was applauding.

He looked around him at the medics who had helped him in the hour and a half and blushed at the attention. He saw from the corner of his eyes Goro coming up next to him. The man gave him a grandfatherly smile of congratulations.

"See? There was nothing to be nervous about. Your mother would be proud of your performance."

Kaito bowed a bit, "Thank you, but it wasn't just me," he looked around at his team, "I don't think I could've made it if I didn't have their help."

Goro nodded, "Then congratulations to all of you! I'm proud to have such medics…" The men and women in the room cheered, "But you can't party yet! The day has only just begun!" There was a series of groans then.

Kaito smiled. He liked it here.

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Arriving home, he told his mother all about his day over a cup of tea. She sat there listening, in one arm, of course, was Hikaru and the other held a floral tea cup, part of a set that Mito offered her.

She smiled, "I'm glad it makes you happy," she said, then looked at him warily, "But… you have to remember that not everything will end up happily like that." She sipped her tea and looked down at him through her eyelashes.

"I know," the young adult said, looking down at his cup, "I know…" His eyes flitted up at Hikaru who looked back at him with confusion in his mismatched eyes. Kaito smiled gently at the baby who in turn giggled and held his arms out to him. He obliged and carefully leaned over the table to get ahold of his brother, turning him in his lap so they were facing each other. Their foreheads bumped cutely and Hikaru wrapped his small hand around his older brother's index finger, gurgling.

"I may not be able to save everyone…but I'll try…and I definitely won't let anyone hurt our family…I'll protect it just like Ashido-nii does… just like you do, Kaa-chan." He looked up at her determined eyes, "That's the reason I'm here."

Sakura looked at her son carefully but said nothing more.

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"Kaito-san, you're needed in room 4," a nurse called out to him.

"Alright, I'll be right there!" he said and made his way towards the designated room, already used to it since it's been three weeks already since he's been working at the hospital.

Entering, he was going to let out a greeting when he was stopped short at the scene. He blinked.

"Haruki?"

It wasn't really the fact that his brother was there that surprised him, but more in the position he was. The blond-haired eighteen-year old was currently trying to wrestle with another man (or what it seemed to be), the blond was practically sprawled across the sheets while the dark-haired one was leaning over him, one hand closed around his brother's wrist, pinning him to the bed and the other intertwined with Haruki's fingers in the air.

To top it all off, his brother sported a 'it's not what it looks like' look.

There was a minute where the three occupants of the room were frozen. Until, Haruki, regaining his senses, fully pushed the obviously older male off of him with a slight blush and a cough to hide his embarrassment. He gave a glare to the man who held his hands up in a 'I'm innocent' way but an amused smirk was present on his androgynous face.

Kaito tilted his head from his brother to the unknown man, "Made a friend, Haruki?" he asked innocently.

"He's not a friend," Haruki grumbled.

Kaito looked up at the man who tried to conceal his devious smirk, "Aw, I'm hurt." He said, looking straight at Haruki then he turned to the blue-haired with a charming smile, "We had a little fight," he whispered teasingly to Kaito. At that his face was met with a pillow thrown hard enough to push someone back.

Kaito frowned a bit, "Haru-nii!" he reprimanded.

The blue-haired man lifted the hard pillow off his face, "Haru-nii?" he repeated then stared at Kaito, then at Haruki, "You're brothers?"

Kaito nodded slowly, "Yes, my name is Kaito."

"Ah, and I'm Kuromori Ryuuzaki, nice to meet you. To be honest, I really don't see any family resemblance!" he tried to look for a similar trait on the two.

"That's because we're not related by blood," came Haruki's mumbling, then he glared at Ryuuzaki when he realized how that might sound to a stranger. "We were orphans and we were adopted when we were little."

"I see…" Ryuuzaki's eyes softened, "That's why you love your mother so much." Haruki turned away from the soft look that made his cheeks burn but didn't answer.

Kaito just watched the exchange in mild amusement, looks like his brother found a friend to match his personality. Chuckling a bit to himself, he went over to Ryuuzaki and started healing him while his brother cooled down a bit.

While healing his arm, Kaito asked, "Where and when did you two meet? I haven't really seen you around here before." He noted as he took in the charming pierced man.

Ryuuzaki leaned back and sighed at the relief given to him, "We met in Rock where your brother was training about three weeks ago."

"Yeah, when I saved his ass!" Haruki added haughtily.

"For that I'm grateful," Ryuuzaki said sincerely, which cued another blush from the blond.

The medic smiled, glad that his brother had someone else to talk to and hang out with other than them. It certainly was a change to be in a new environment with different people.

It almost made them forget about the tension-filled life they have to live.

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"I'll be home later, I have to take care of something first, 'kay? Tell Kaa-chan that I won't be late for dinner!" Kaito waved a hand at the duo as they walked away, bickering still.

He then made his way back home, ready to relax in the hot springs after a long tiring day. Ha, no wonder his mother often went to the hot springs, he had discovered its beautiful relaxing property.

Passing by the protective barrier still around their home, he tensed a bit when he felt a surge of power from near their house. Quickly running to inspect it, he relaxed when he saw it was only Daisuke trying out something new.

It was always an amazing experience whenever his mother or Daisuke used their divine powers. It was something that only the two had so it was pretty special seeing it.

After a few minutes of watching his brother, a nervous feeling overcame him. He tensed and furrowed his eyebrows as the sense of foreboding seeped into his stomach. Observing his brother, he sensed that something was wrong as a whirlwind engulfed his brother. His stomach dropped when Daisuke turned to him with an apologizing look and a second later, he felt his arm hurt and watched as blood seeped from his arm almost cruelly.

And like that, it stopped and Daisuke was gone.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen  
Ashido  
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The young man of twenty hefted up the large planks of woods on his shoulder using titanic strength not unlike his mother's. He then handed them up to the workers who were rebuilding the roof of a house.

"Thanks!"

"No problem," he replied back as he waved and continued on his way along the village. He had made it his personal job to look out for the village's reconstruction after the First Great Shinobi World War. He knew that his mother wanted to look over it herself but their newest addition to the family was still fairly young.

"Good morning, Ashido-kun!" a group of girls greeted cheerfully with giggles as they passed by him.

"Good morning," he replied back and mentally sighed as they swooned. He ran a hand through his long red spiky hair. His mother had warned him about this, after all.

"_As long as you're handsome, girls will be flocking and throwing themselves at your feet no matter what you do. Even if you defect the village, try to kill them or some other thing," she waved her hand around as she said this, "Remember that crazy woman? The one who was on Sasuke's team?"_

"_The one with red hair and glasses?"_

"_Yes."_

_He shivered at the mention of her. He had only met her once in his life, but it was really enough to give him the whole picture about her._

"_Be ready to live a life full of them… Tell that to your brothers as well."_

Mentally sighing, he silently prayed for his little Uchiha brothers. They were going to go through hell.

"Oi! Senju!" was called.

Ashido did not stop, as there were many Senju around and they usually never called him that anyways, even if his mother sported the name. He then stopped as a figure ran ahead and stood almost defiantly in front of him.

"Hey, I was talking to you and you ignored me!" the male was maybe the same age as him with brown hair and an arrogant smirk. Two other guys flanked his side, one was lanky and thin while the other was fat and gruff.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were talking to me," he answered sincerely, being the polite young man he was raised up to be.

The guy harrumphed, "Whatever. I heard that you've been acting all high and mighty since the war! Ain't that right?" he asked his lackeys who just nodded dumbly behind him. "Just because your stepfather was the Second Hokage don't mean you can act like that!"

"Act like what?" the red-head asked, crossing his arms.

"Like that! I'm gonna show them that you're nothing but a fake who's just hiding behind your parents' achievements," he snarled.

"Jealousy never leads to development so if I may advise you, I suggest you stop deluding that you're superior," he stated calmly, "Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do, the village needs manpower and help. I think you should be doing something." Then he walked past them.

A hand roughly pulled him back, "Now here's what I've been talking about! Stop acting like you're superior!" he then aimed a punch at his face.

Ashido of course caught it with ease and a shocked look came onto their faces as he tried to pull his fist back, only to have it being crushed in the other's hand, "Oh, but I am superior. Instead of fooling around looking for trouble," he tightened his fist, "I do suggest you go over there and help out that lady with her bags, or so help me, I will show you exactly why they call me the 'Master of Elements'."

He said all this with an eerie calm that sent the three running off. Ashido shook his head and sighed wearily, evidently, there were still people like those in the world. He grimaced as he imagined those three actually being Shinobi.

It was a pathetic image.

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The day went on as he helped the construction builders here and there when he could, holding up a piece of the wall, melting metal with his fire bending, politely declining offers from women, picking up rubble, nailing roofs, hiding from fangirls… and the whatnot.

It was high time he went back home and was starting to walk towards the Senju residence when he passed by a newly opened bakery. His mother loved sweets but with the baby and everything she hadn't really had time to do any cooking and most of the kids were also helping with the renovation. Thinking it was better than nothing; he went inside and purchased two boxes of different kinds of cake from strawberry shortcake to marble.

After all, he now had a big family.

On his way to the residence though, he caught sight of a training field where he spotted three familiar heads. They were standing over a small form that was kneeling quite pitifully on the ground in front of them. Ashido resisted the urge to slap his forehead but sighed in frustration nonetheless.

"I have nothing!" the form on the ground squeaked.

"Tch, come on! We're kinda hungry and we all forgot to bring money. Chubby here's getting cranky and it's annoying. A kid like you with such nice quality scrolls wouldn't even miss the money!" the leader said, kicking the smaller shoulder painfully.

"Haven't I told you to go and do something productive of your lives?" Ashido drawled out as he approached them. The two lackeys visibly gulped and backed up a little but their leader stood his ground with a scowl. The red-haired man stood inches from him and he shrunk down a bit.

"Fine! It wasn't worth it anyways!" he exclaimed and turned to leave, but not before kicking dirt into the poor guy's face still on the ground.

Ashido glared at them which effectively sent them running. He kneeled down, "You okay?" he asked. The person nodded and looked up with big brown eyes, it showed that he was male from the lack of chest but was quite small.

"Thank you," he stood up and patted the dirt off his clothes before wincing, holding his shoulder. "Those bullies," he mumbled to himself.

"Here, let me see," Ashido took his arm and put a hand over the shoulder, "My medical skills aren't really the best… but I can at least get rid of soreness." Green healing chakra flowed from his hand into the hurt area for a few seconds, "There, try it out."

He experimentally moved it this way and that, "It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you… Ah! By the way, I'm Himazawa Kaoru."

"Ashido."

Kaoru paused at the name and looked up owlishly at the young man, "A-ah! A-Ashido? As in, Senju Ashido?"

Ashido nodded, "People don't really call me that, I just prefer Ashido." He then looked at the bag in his hand, full of cakes. "Do you want some? I think you've had a rough day."

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Kaoru took a bite out of it and let out a pleased sound, "I don't mean to pry but… your mother, her name is Senju Sakura, isn't it? So… wouldn't it be normal that you would take the name?"

"Not really," he replied, taking a bite out of the Opera he chose, "I have Uchiha brothers and Senju brothers… but we're not Uchihas nor Senjus. It seems wrong to take the names but our mother had to because of the rules of marriage."

"And, she's not against you not taking the name?"

"It was her idea."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, we don't really need a common name to know that we're a family. We just are." He explained, "Do you understand or are you completely lost?" He chuckled.

Kaoru shook his head, "I kinda understand. It's nice to have a tied family like that."

There was a comfortable silence.

"Do you think we could be friends?" the brunette asked.

Ashido blinked and looked at the shy boy who was maybe a few years younger than himself. By the looks of things, with the books beside him, introverted way of speaking and socializing, he was the kind to stick more to himself. He himself hasn't had any friends for a long time, after all. It was only his brothers and they were 'friends' enough for him.

"Sure."  
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Kaoru bowed slightly, "Thank you for helping me and the cake was delicious! I hope I'll be able to do something for you in the future to pay you back. If possible."

Ashido waved it away, "It's alright, forget about it."

"But…" the brown-haired thought about it, what could he give to Ashido? For all he knew, the young man was pretty content, "My family is rich-

"We don't need money. Nidaime's stepson, remember?" Ashido reminded him.

"Ah, r-right…" Kaoru shifted when an idea came to him, "The Himazawa have the biggest archives in the Fire country," he started, "We may not have confidential things about the village, of course, but we have lots of scrolls and books on various subjects. At least, it's bigger and fuller than the Konoha library. Not everyone can access our archives so… if there's anything you'd like to research about that's not at the library just come and see me and I'll let you have a pass there!"

Ashido smiled, "Alright, thank you. I'll be sure to keep in contact then."

"Yeah!"

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The red-haired young man bid goodbye to Kaoru and strolled down the darkening streets. It was almost sundown and people were packing up and going home, intent on getting a good night's rest before the next day.

He looked around at the progress they made in just a few days and he estimated that it should take a few more weeks until they got downtown. He jumped through the roofs, leaving the village square and looked out onto the still ruined outskirts of the town. Floating down gracefully, he looked around… then froze.

Turning himself fully, he looked at the house in front of him. A house that brought back many memories. Fond memories of the past.

This was their home.

Home…

Ashido thought about it. He was just a toddler when they were brought back to the past, so he didn't quite understand everything.

There was little he could do for his mother when he was little, and even now, near adulthood, he felt as if he was still useless. That was why he took on so many missions. Missions that were meant for their mother.

She had sacrificed her being and everything she had to get to where she was. For them, for her loved ones, her friends, her country.

But was this really a good thing?

Of course, he realized that he wasn't as close to his brothers anymore. He sometimes hung out with the Uchiha brothers but nothing more and he didn't know a thing about the Senju brothers except their names, he didn't even know how to tell the twins apart.

His family was his priority.

And will always be.

Just like their mother's.

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Akira  
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The blond yawned and stretched his arms over his head, satisfied when he heard the popping of his back. Rolling his shoulders, he stood up and looked distastefully at the piles and stacks of scrolls and books around him forming a fortress.

He looked around him and smirked a little to himself. Being the son of a very influential woman in a village had its advantages. He was currently in Konoha's archives, kept confidential unlike the sorry excuse of a library they had downtown. He had the privilege of scouring through it for his research on seals. The only problem, to him that is, was the lack of light inside the room.

He picked up the scroll filled up with his notes from the various sources. Usually people would hate things that were forced onto them. Of course, this wasn't really forced onto him, but to some it could seem that way. Those who were ignorant of course.

He knew that no matter what, their mother would never force them to do something they didn't want to…

Except for chores, of course. There are always exceptions unfortunately.

Rolling the scroll up, he placed it in the pouch on the back of his hips before taking an armful of the books to be put away in their rightful places.

Once done, he made his way out, saluting the guards in front who gave him an incredulous look, obviously new. They usually knew him around these parts and the regular guards recognized him by now and let him through without much hassle. Shrugging, he walked down the somber hallway and he rolled his eyes at how the interior decorator had stretched it a bit far.

Unsealing the doorway that would lead him out, he waited a bit until he felt the foreign chakra signatures disappear from the other room before coming out.

"Ah, Kaito-kun, finished?" the Third Hokage asked from his desk as the blond appeared form the secret door on his wall.

"Finished for today? Yes. Finished with my research? Not even close," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "And how are you doing? I mean with being Hokage and all that…"

The twenty one year old rolled his eyes and gestured grandly towards the piles of paper on his desk, "As soon as I finish one pile, two more come in," he shook his head, "I swear I'm more likely to drown and die in a pile of paperwork than from the actual war it's talking about."

Akira laughed, "Yeah, well, good luck with that." He stilled for a second before a wide grin appeared on his face.

Sarutobi was about to ask why he was grinning like that when a gust of wind blew in from the floor to ceiling windows and he could practically feel the power radiating from the woman who appeared in front of him. He smiled and watched as Akira ran over to his mother and gave her a hug.

A total momma's boy… just like the rest of them actually.

The white-haired woman put a hand on his head, "You left early today, you didn't even eat breakfast," her melodious voice said.

Akira gave an apologetic look, "I couldn't sleep and I just couldn't stay in bed! Next time, I'll try, I promise!"

A smile broke out of the woman's face, "It's alright, but just warn me. You know I don't like it when you go without saying anything. Even if I know when and where you're going, I'd just like a heads up, alright?" He nodded vigorously, looking like a little puppy. "Good, now, since you're finished, could you pick up your brothers and bring them home from the Uchiha residence? And if you have time, stop by Mito's place and bring them home as well."

"Will do!" he shouted as he made his way towards the door. As he was closing the door, he heard Sarutobi say: "Sakura-sama, what do think of those three?"

The blue-eyed blond closed the door fully and stopped a bit, deciding whether to walk or jump. Shrugging he jumped onto a roof and traveled on towards the Uchiha residence. He looked around the area he was in… and slowed down.

This part hadn't been renovated yet; the villagers prioritized town square, the houses and the merchant areas. This district was one of the newer ones that no one had moved into yet save a few newcomers so it was probably going to be the last to be renovated. He jumped down from the roof and his eyes widened a bit.

"Ashi-nii…" he called out softly.

The red-head, who was lost in his thoughts blinked and turned to his little brother, "Akira, what are you doing here?"

The blond smiled a bit as he approached the eldest, "I'm on my way to pick up the kids for Kaa-chan." They both turned to the building to their right.

It was their home.

They remembered the white walls of the three story apartment building and the inviting bright yellow door that had welcomed them so long ago… Looking up, they saw the white balcony that had been their mother's private mini-garden and the new white collective mailbox that decades later would be bent and painted orange.

Unwilled tears welled up in Akira's eyes and he rubbed them quickly. He looked up when he felt his brother put a hand on his head, "Ashi-nii…" he started.

"We have a new home now," the red-head interrupted, looking back at the house again, but his hand not moving, "This house in front of us… is not our home. It never will be. It isn't the home we grew up in… the home Kaa-chan took us to so long ago. This… is just a house."

Akira nodded, "I know but… I can still remember everything from then… and it hurts," he concluded.

"Then just think about Kaa-chan. Think about how much this is hurting her," Ashido whispered, "Can you imagine what it feels like for her? To walk through these streets and be reminded of what she had lost." Ashido then turned to his brother with a gentle smile, "that's why we're here. To make the pain go away just a little. Right?"

"Right."

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Arriving at the Uchiha Residence, the two brothers bypassed the guards almost painstakingly easily and made their way towards their brothers' chakra signatures. Finding them with ease, Akira sat down on a nearby tree while Ashido leaned against it, next to his brother, waiting for them to finish.

The blond waved as Takumi turned to their general direction, having sensed him unlike the rest of his kin. The Uchiha smiled welcomingly and beckoned him over. Jumping down, he looked at his brother who joined him a moment later, walking at a leisurely pace, the older man greeted them.

"Good evening, Akira-kun, Ashido-kun, how are you two?" the man asked. At the sound of their names though, the three little Uchihas stopped their activity and with grins ran over to their big brothers, interrupting their teacher.

The blond grinned as well and kneeled down with open arms as they flung themselves in his embrace.

"'Kira-nii!" they shouted as they tackled their brother to the ground.

"Oof! Hey guys! Had fun?" he asked. All three of them nodded vigorously. They then looked up at the eldest and their eyes shone.

"Ashi-nii!" they ran over to him and hugged his legs, "You came to pick us up!" the twins chirped at the same time. They paused, turned to look at each other and stuck out their tongues.

It was pretty rare that Ashido would come and pick them up since he was the oldest and it seemed like he never had time for these things. It was usually either Akira or Kaito who came to fetch them and on occasions, their mother, but this was maybe only the third time it was Ashido.

Takumi smiled at the scene, "You'd better start making your way back, it's getting late," he spoke up and turned to the Uchihas, "Don't forget to practice a bit over the next two weeks I'm gone okay? I'll be seeing your progress when I come back. Promise?" he asked.

"Promise!" the three answered.

With that the group made their way towards the gates. Akira was up ahead with the three while Ashido walked behind, Takumi next to him, talking about their progress.

"They're a bit of a handful, since they're toddlers, but it's quite refreshing from the usual stoic pre-teens I'm used to," he chuckled, "They're growing at a very fast pace. Kimihiro's Sharingan is developing nicely and it's only a matter of time until Kohaku-kun and Kousuke-kun get theirs."

"I see, what about their personalities?" Ashido asked.

Takumi glanced at the young man next to him, "Not to be rude or anything but shouldn't you know more than me?" Curious as to why the brother asked the question.

The red-haired sighed, "The Hokage's been sending me out very frequently and I never have time to play with the kids. To tell you the truth, I know close to nothing about them and even less about my Senju brothers. The age gap of twenty years doesn't help much either."

The Uchiha frowned a bit, "Then why don't you decline? I'm sure Hokage-sama would give you a break."

"He is giving me a break. The fact that I'm only gone for two weeks at the most is a break. But… I don't want to refuse…" he said vaguely.

Takumi thought about this for a few moments and realization lit up in his eyes, "You're taking on your mother's share of missions… aren't you?"

"…"

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Akira listened quietly to the conversation behind him and he felt himself a bit inadequate. Ashido was sacrificing so much for them. He was going to do something to make up for that, for sure.

They arrived at the gate where they bid goodbye to Takumi, passing by the astonished guards who didn't see them come in. They looked at the quickly setting sun and knew they had to hurry it up. Ashido picked up the four year old twins while Akira piggy-backed Kimihiro who was a bit disappointed that he couldn't run with them even if he was already nine, but he knew he couldn't keep up. With a brief, 'Hold on tight', the both of them shot up onto the rooftops, not going too fast but fast enough to reach the Senju estate in the shortest time possible.

Bypassing the guards with a wave on Akira's part, Ashido slowed and let Akira go ahead to lead him through the residence he wasn't that familiar with. They arrived at a garden where they saw Mito sitting out, not unlike their mother daily, in her arms was Hikaru and the second pair of twins, who just became two years old sitting on the grass, whispering quietly to each other as if they had a secret.

"Ah, boys! I was starting to wonder where you went!" the red-haired woman said as she stood up and gave the five boys a kiss on the cheek, "A little late today. Do you want an escort?" she asked, still viewing them as kids.

Ashido smiled, "Thank you but it won't be necessary, Aunt Mito," he replied, watching as Akira put down Kimihiro to gather the Senju twins in his arms instead.

The woman smiled gently at him, "Alright, just be careful on your way back, okay?"

"Right," Ashido put down the Uchiha twins, then turned, making a hand sign, there was a poof and smoke. When the smoke cleared away, a large manta ray summon was before them. It was dark blue on top and had a white stomach, its beady eyes looking out at them, a large brown boat-like seat covered most of its back, big enough to fit them.

"Woah!" the kids hollered in awe at the beast.

"Alright, everybody on!" Akira shouted and carefully made his way onto the saddle, leaning against the side, Kimihiro right behind him. Ashido helped the Uchiha twins get up and Mito held out her arms for Ashido to take the already sleeping Hikaru. Getting comfortable, Ashido patted the manta rays head. It made a siren-like sound and took off gently into the air.

The Uchiha and Senju children looked down as they gained height and waved at Mito who waved back. Soon enough though, they began to tire after the day and drifted off to sleep.

Akira yawned and rubbed his eyes. "You can go to sleep you know. I'll wake you up when we're there," the elder offered, "Manta has the speed of a turtle anyways; it'll take a while."

The blond smiled and shook his head, "I won't leave you alone. Anyways, I'd like to talk."

The red-head blinked, "About what?"

"About the kids," he motioned over to the sleeping bunch in the middle. "I know you haven't been at home much. The kids really do miss you."

Ashido sighed, "It's not polite to eavesdrop, otouto."

Akira huffed, "It's not eavesdropping when you can hear the conversation without straining your ears, Ashi-nii." Then a smile came onto his face, "Well then, hmm… let's start with the oldest first. Kimihiro's a pretty calm and quiet one, he kinda reminds me of you sometimes: the way he looks out for Haku and Suke. He loves reading and he's taken quite the liking to Dai-nii who's happy to have company. Haku and Suke… well, they're Uchihas, they have this rivalry thing going on with the others and even more so with each other."

"They're twins but they fight?" Ashido asked curiously.

"Yeah, usually what happens is that when one decides to do something, the other wants to it too… but better; which usually ends up with both of them running off to Kaa-chan, asking who did it better," the blond smiled, "but I think they care about each other more than they let on."

Ashido nodded, "Maybe they'll understand better when they grow up," he said.

"Or maybe it could worsen. They might not even want to be in the same room anymore. But what will happen will happen! We can just hope for the best and guide them towards the right path."

"You've grown, Akira…" the red-head remarked, wise words now emerged from the once trouble maker. "I still remember when you never wanted to eat unless one of us fed you, usually Daisuke," he chuckled.

Akira blushed and rubbed the tip of his nose, "Ashi-nii! Anyways! Onto the Senju!" he quickly diverted the embarrassing stories of his infanthood. He looked down at the twins who were poised on blankets in the middle. The two faced each other peacefully and one hand was clutched in the other's.

The blond smiled gently, "Shun-chan and Arashi-chan… they're the complete opposites of the Uchiha twins. You could say they're real twins. If you could see them, you would be amazed. I've never seen such harmonization in anyone since… since that time with Kaa-chan's… old team. And they're only babies!"

"How so?" Ashido asked, also turning his gaze to the twins.

"For one, they have this telepathy thing going on. We noticed that they seemed to communicate without saying or doing anything. Like yesterday for example, they were just sitting idly when suddenly Arashi reached over to the sippy cup next to him and handed it to Shun who gladly drank it. Or when they would move, sometimes their actions are in perfect sync."

"That's amazing," the brother noted.

"Kaa-chan thinks that it's a special ability of theirs. She said that she'd met a few cases like this when she was still an apprentice at Konoha hospital. Most twins, especially identical twins would have a psychological connection between them since they were one organism at the beginning. One time, I remember, their crib was broken because of some 'crazy spirit' that Dai-nii couldn't control. So Kaa-chan decided to put Arashi with Kousuke in his crib and Shun in Kohaku's…"

"Something happened?"

"Yeah, Arashi and Shun wouldn't stop crying, no matter what Kaa-chan did. She then moved Kohaku into Kousuke's crib and had the Senju twins share a bed."

"Let me guess, they stopped crying instantly," Ashido said.

"Yeah. Kaa-chan doesn't really know how deep the bond between them is but she was assured that they would be alright… but then we had another problem. Kohaku and Kousuke began to fight with each other." Akira shook his had at the particular memory of being kicked by the twins in his attempt to separate them. "In the end, Kaa-chan moved Shun and Arashi to her room and Kohaku regained his bed."

Ashido chuckled, "That sounds like them alright," he shifted his arm a bit and looked down as the little Hikaru blinked up at him innocently before closing his big doe-like eyes. "And this one?"

"Ah, Hiku-chan, he's just like you and Kimihiro when you guys were babies: calm and quiet. I don't think I've ever heard him cry. He's very observant, which is what he does most of the time. I feel like whenever he looks at me, he's asking 'why?'. He observes every action that goes on in the family with those big mismatched eyes. Kaa-chan sees something in him. I mean, she sees things in all of us, like the probable 'Senju Bond' the twins have. And I believe she sees something in Hiku-chan… but I don't know what it is yet." He finished.

Ashido took a breath, "Well then, we'll just have to wait and see. Each one of us is destined for something. Every one of us is special in some way," he glanced at the Senju twins, "even those who seem alike."

"You sound like Rakuen!" Akira piped up. Then he frowned a bit, "Hey… we forgot someone."

Ashido raised a brow, "Who?"

"… Hayato… and Kazue. How… do you think… they're okay?" the blond asked, still not forgetting that night years ago.

The red-head looked at his worried little brother and smiled encouragingly, "They're Haruno. Of course they're alright."

Akira smiled, "Yeah… you're right."

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When they landed on their front yard, they immediately knew something was wrong. Akira looked around at the silent abode but he could very well feel the surge of chakra that was their mother's pulsing inside their home. Putting the kids down, the front doors slid open to reveal a slightly disheveled Kaito who had red-rimmed eyes.

"What happened?" Akira was almost afraid to ask.

Their blue-haired brother bit his lip, "Daisuke-nii disappeared."

* * *

**So there, the next chap will be Sakura's day as I have said before.**


	14. Chapter 13

**I am a huge fan of The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra and I love using bending in my fics. **

**This chapter sorta got out of hand a little and seems very... not Naruto-world-ish and I apologize for that.**

**But I still hope you enjoy it~**

* * *

Chapter 13:

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen  
Sakura  
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The white-haired healer stood in her private garden and breathed in the cool night air. Digging her toes into the grass, she made sure all the exits, save for the sunroof was sealed off. Then, she slowly stripped of her elaborate nightgown kimono, letting it fall down at her feet until she wore nothing but bindings, just enough to cover her chest.

She rolled her shoulders and ran over to where a semi-large body of water was dug and dived in gracefully. She wanted to sigh in relief when the cold water hit her skin and let her body follow the flow until she broke the surface. Moving her hands around gracefully, she moved the water to her will, making it more dense it so it held her just a few centimeters above the flat surface.

She looked up at the half full moon and smiled, she felt freedom. Out of the kimono that symbolized her femininity, out of the weapons that marked her a Shinobi, out of the stifling façade of being a symbol of authority… and out of the warmth that made her a loving mother.

She was just her.

For the shortest time in her chaotic life, she could be herself and forget the outside world…

She knows she shouldn't… but she needs this. Because if she loses herself within time and space… then she would lose it all.

Sitting up, she shook her head and fell into the lotus position on top of the water, this time using her chakra to stay afloat. Putting her hands together, she took a deep breath from her nose and concentrated herself on anything but the world on the exterior of her secret garden.

Letting it out slowly through her mouth, imagining that it was all her responsibilities flowing out like her breath. She was just going to concentrate on herself. She was going to be selfish, just for a few minutes, she was just going to think about herself, no one and nothing else.

Just for a few minutes.

Controlling the elements was something that drained you not only physically but psychologically as well. Being able to get control of something that's as unstable as nature is not something everyone should do… much like the Shinobi profession.

As an Element Master, you have to have a certain control over yourself before you decide to control other things.

_The Element Benders were thought to be just myth. But with the war, the Shinobi world had discovered more than one civilization thought to be myth or extinct. The Benders were one of them. They had come when the Samurai of Steel called out to them, for most thought that they wouldn't make it. _

_So the Benders sent a fleet of twenty or so benders. And the world came to know them once more. They controlled the elements without hand signs and they tipped the scale of war a little more to their side. _

_Sakura had met some of them, men and women came and went from her hospital and everyone wanted to know how they did it. Most Shinobi wanted to learn the art of Bending and with some persuasion, they accepted to see who had the potential to be one because it was something either you're born with or without. _

_Just like a Kekkai Genkai._

_Haruno Sakura, back then, was only known for her prodigal medic skills. So when these people so out of reach for her said that they would be willing to teach anyone who wanted, of course people flocked in. _

_To filter out these people, they singled out those who were already proficient in an element. Then they filtered it out even more by seeing for themselves if they had potential or not. Then finally, they had to prove that they were willing to do anything, because this was not just a fighting style, it was their way of life._

_In the end, there were just a handful of them, twenty four maybe. Those two dozen were taken out to an island where they had started their training. _

Sakura remembered the island very well. It was like a tropical paradise actually where you could find waterfalls and rocky terrain, grass and sand. To some, it was like a vacation. Needless to say, they were shipped off the island very quickly. Her main element was water, back then, so she was sent to a Waterbending master.

_She was given instructions to go towards the biggest waterfall on the island with five others of the same element, three girls and two boys. When they arrived there, a man was standing on the water, a normal thing for Shinobi, but he was doing slow and graceful movements for someone who looked so old –in his sixties maybe- the water bending to his will. _

_Then, without any warning, he fisted up his hands, the water froze and he propelled it towards them. Of course, having the reflex, they quickly jumped away from the spikes of water now lodged into the ground. His pupils gave a round applause and the man bowed. He had aged grey hair that went to a few inches below his shoulder, the top half pulled back. A goatee the only hair on his face and his deep blue eyes radiated wisdom. The clothes he had on made them feel warm in the already tropical weather: a fur coat in blue and matching pants._

_He smiled and put his hands out, "Welcome, I am Pakku, and I will be the one to see if you've got what it takes to be a waterbender. Since you're here, that means that you may have the gift of Bending. My first question, has any of you tried to bend before? Or has anyone ever done it unconsciously?" he looked around but there was no sign of anyone having tried. "Alright, as you may have heard, and unfortunately is true, you are born with it, if you can't manifest it, then you won't be able to do it. Now, let's start shall we?"_

_With that their training began. _

_Since they were Shinobi, they were forced to learn things in a limited time under stress, so it took them only two weeks to get the basics and go on to the big deal. Unfortunately, they had to remember that it was a time of war and some had to leave the island to go and help their countries, but leaving with the basics._

_They were now but four in Water, two girls and boys. It was probably the same with the other elements as well._

_They were into a month of training; Sakura was taking day lessons with Pakku and night lessons with another Waterbender who taught healing. It was during one of these did suddenly an alarm went off._

_They were under attack._

_Of course, like many populations, they still had their share of conflicts. It was then that Sakura had manifested the skill to bend more than one element. She was paired off with a Firebending guy out on the beach. They were fighting against other firebenders, thus she was sent as backup for the guy. _

_It was when they had decided to launch a giant fireball at them, that they were cornered on a mountain where the guy she was with still wasn't at the level to stop something at that level and when the water was so far away, that in a moment's panic, Sakura had stood her ground, flailed her arms around them and put up a shield of earth._

_At first, they thought it was a fluke when the Earthbending master came and got them out of it, but they had said that no Earthbender was near here at the time. _

_With that, after the battle, she was prodded and questioned and she was tested. _

_It wasn't a fluke. _

_After that, she had gone the round of the masters, learning the basics with solid determination because… she finally had something. Finally had something that was unique and not everyone could do._

_It felt nice._

_But of course, with great power… comes greater consequences. _

_Apparently, it was dangerous for her. After hearing about a Shinobi who could bend more than one, and not just two but all four elements, one of the leaders decided to come and talk to her. Telling her about the danger it could do not only to her body but her mind._

Sakura opened her eyes and felt the water swirl around her, cooling her warm skin. Controlling an element necessitated something and it was different for all the elements. For example, for Air you needed to go around any obstacles, never getting seriously hurt while for Earth, you needed to stand your ground and get rid of anything that comes at you, even it was a giant boulder, you wouldn't swerve around it, you would face it head on.

It needed a multi-tasking mind.

For if the mind could not handle the difference between each, then it would crumble. She remembered that she had almost gone crazy because she was confused, the elements fought inside her, trying to be the dominant element. Because of that, her body and mind shut off for some time.

When she woke up again, she couldn't bend anymore. After that, she decided that there had to be a way to control them without losing her mind and killing her body. So she had meditated…

For 145 days, she meditated, shifting her mind to accommodate the elements and her own feelings and thoughts. This was where Inner had come in. The alter ego who lived in her mind, now, in the past, long gone because of the strain she had put her psych through all these years. She had forced herself to structure her mind so they were balanced like they should be.

Taking a breath, she remembered when Ashido had asked her and she had hesitated. The only reason she agreed to it, was because she knew he had a kekkei genkai. One that was from a Clan who was long gone. It permitted him to have a very powerful mind barrier that would repel any genjutsu and mind techniques. And from the little information she had gathered, his Clan was apparently caught up in illegal business and with the war just starting, people were looking for reasons to kill.

She clenched her fists and her anger seeped out and shook the mountain.

She didn't even want to think of the possibility that she hadn't met her children, for better or for worse.

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Sakura sighed and sipped her sake idly, her white hair still wet from her little swim. She glanced at the translucent but at the same time blindingly white lady next to her.

"Is there something I can do for you, Tsukihime?" she asked the moon goddess. The woman, not looking older than her twenties sat down with her knees folded underneath her, a silver robe adorned her flawless white skin and her white hair, so much like Sakura's, was pulled into intricate loops.

The celestial being looked over with silver eyes and Sakura flinched at the familiarity of them. The being smiled almost sadly, "Maybe. I'm just worrying over a friend of mine."

Sakura blinked, "A Spirit friend?"

She shook her head, "No, a human one."

"I didn't know you had contact with humans," the white-haired woman noted, filtering her memory of anything related to the Moon Spirit and humans.

"I do. To tell you the truth, this was the first human I've ever got into contact with on my own will. Most just summon me and demand horrible things," she closed her eyes, "But I'm not here to talk about me. You see, my friend is special. She thinks she can shoulder the world's problems. Which may or may not be the truth, but I'm very worried about her," the spirit said.

"Did you try talking to her about this?"

"Oh yes, and not just me, many people have already confronted her on the problem. But unfortunately, she's horribly stubborn," the goddess said and giggled. "She's strong… one of the strongest humans I've ever met. But… everyone is worried that if she continues the way she is then she will be the one who will crumble under the weight and the pressure. That is the last thing we want."

"…Why don't you all tell her this? I'm sure she'll listen to your pleas."

"Hmm… alright, I'll try. Sakura-chan… we're really worried for you, you know," the goddess said, turning to the mortal. "It's been years now since we've known each other and everyone's worried about you. The water spirit is wondering where you went since it's been a while since you've visited him, I've heard."

Sakura sighed, "I know, I'm just busy. Don't worry about it Tsukihime. I'll… lie back a little. Just tell everyone that I'm okay and that I'll try visiting them once in while."

"Alright… if you're sure. Just know that… you have people who love you here, people who're very worried about you."

"I know… I know."

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"Open up now, Hiku-chan," she cooed at she fed the baby some mashed up peas and carrots. He obliged and took in the food offered to him, gurgling happily after. Sakura smiled at him and hummed contentedly.

"Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan!" the three Uchihas shouted as they bounded into the dinning room.

"Good morning," she greeted and offered her cheek as they each planted a kiss there, "All set for the day?" she asked them. They nodded vigorously as they ate their breakfast. "I'm sorry I can't bring you there but I have something very important to do today, instead Kaito-kun is going to drop you off there."

"It's okay!" the twins spoke at the same time then they glared at each other.

"Alright," she looked up as Haruki came through the door, a backpack on his shoulder and his wolf beside him.

"I'm off!" the sixteen year old exclaimed as he came into the room. He bent down and gave his mother a kiss and pinched Hikaru's cheek, earning a pout from the baby.

"Alright, when will you be back?" she asked, looking up at her son who was going to travel to the mountainside some kilometers up north.

He shrugged as he strapped on his backpack, "I don't know, not more than a month though. I'll just be testing out a few things that I can't test out with the village nearby," he smirked.

"Just be careful then," she said, then looked down at the brown slightly shaggy wolf next to him, "Make sure he stays out of trouble, Chairo-kun."

The wolf bowed its head down respectfully then looked back up, "Will do, Sakura-hime!" With that, Haruki ruffled each of his brothers' hair before shooting out the door.

The mother sighed and shook her head, "Boys, training this and training that. Where do you get that from?"

With an eerie synchronization, all four kids in the room looked up at her almost as if to say, 'uh I dunno, you?'

Raising an eyebrow at her children, she just shook her head, "Kaito-kun," she called out as her fourth oldest came through, "Could you please drop them off before you go to the hospital?"

"Sure, Kaa-chan," he said as he bent down and kissed his mother's cheek, "By the way, have you seen Akira-kun? It was quieter than usual today."

"Ah, he left very early this morning," she responded.

"I see, what are you gonna do today, Kaa-chan?" he asked as he sat down across from Kimihiro and munched on an apple.

"I have some business to take care of in the village today so I'm gonna drop off Shun, Arashi and Hikaru at your Aunt Mito's," she said, wiping off the food that got onto Hikaru's cheeks. "You'll know where to find me if there's an emergency."

"Ah, politics stuff. You were never this into the village's politics before, were you?" he asked.

"No, I wasn't, I even hated to be mixed up in any of their business," she frowned a bit, "But if you aren't in the know with everything that's going on, we really can't do anything about our situation, can we?"

Kaito shrugged, "I guess not…" he looked up at the clock on the wall, "I'm gonna be late if I don't get going now." He stood up and clapped his hands, "Alright, let's get going, 'kay?" he winked at his three younger brothers who immediately stood up, ready to start the day.

Sakura watched them go with a wave and a smile. They were growing up. She should be happy that she has come to live this far.

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The small manta ray floated gracefully onto the garden where Mito and her son, Hideki were sitting. Sakura jumped down gracefully, "Good morning, Mito, Hideki-kun."

"Morning, Sakura-chan!" the woman took Hikaru into her arms and kissed his chubby cheeks. "And how are you Hiku-chan! You're soooo cute, aren't you?" the teenage Senju smiled and bowed respectfully and greeted her as well.

Sakura smiled, "How are you?"

The woman sighed, "A bit lonely if I'm to be honest…" she pouted, "You never have time to spend with me anymore!"

The white-haired woman sweat-dropped, "Yes, yes, I'll be sure to try and make some time for tea. Thanks again for watching over them." She looked back to where Hideki was taking the twins into his arms from Manta.

"Mou, it's nothing really…" Mito said as she shifted Hikaru in her arms.

"…Is something wrong?"

"Sakura-chan… Sachiko's coming back," the woman said, looking down at the ground, "I received a letter this morning. She's… coming back home." Sachiko, the Senju couple's only daughter had eloped with her boyfriend.

"Isn't that good news?"

Mito nodded, "Of course it is… But… can you please be here? I know you're terribly busy but-

"I'll be here. When is she coming?"

"Noon… Thank you."

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Knocking once, she opened the door to the office, "Good morning, Hiruzen."

There was a shuffling under the ocean of papers in the room, "Ah, good morning, Sakura-sama." His head popped out of the pile where his desk was supposed to be. "You're a little early, the Council members aren't here yet."

"I know. Here," she pulled up her sleeves a bit and made a swish motion to her right with her arms. Like that, the papers fluttered into the air. Bringing her hands down towards the ground again, piles began forming until the desk was partly visible again and there was at least a little space to walk around in.

"Thank you," he cleared his throat and sat down on his chair, looking a little bit more than uncomfortable.

Sakura smiled, "Not used to it yet?"

The man's ears turned a bit pink, "Well, not yet. I'm not… I don't think I'm really the leader kind, I'm not like the Shodaime and Nidaime who immediately fell into this position like they were born for it."

"Oh, no, I'm sure you are, Hiruzen, there's a reason why Tobirama chose you as his successor," she told him.

"About that… if I'm not being too forward, Sakura-sama, why didn't Tobirama-sensei choose… you. You know all the works of politics and have always given the right ideas for the village. I also heard you were a sort of councilor for the Shodaime. Wouldn't it have been a better decision to put you here?"

She laughed, "Good question. But, for one, I hate politics. I think it's one of the things I hate more in this world than spicy food. Second of all, I've found that the people are more likely to follow a man than a woman," she put up her hand as Hiruzen was about to argue that statement, "Maybe in the future, we'll have a female Kage… but it won't be me."

"With all due respect, Sakura-sama, we agree with you," came voices from behind them.

Hiruzen stood up with a smile, "Hoharu, Homura, glad to see you," he went over to them, oblivious to the frown that adorned the woman's face. Schooling her expression, she turned to them.

"Koharu-san, Homura-san, we meet again," she greeted tersely.

"Indeed, Sakura-sama. Now, we don't have all day, let's start this meeting," Koharu said as they all took place in their respective chairs around the room. Everyone looked at the Hokage expectantly.

Hiruzen cleared his throat once more, "My predecessor has brought many things to the village, those truly noted are the Anbu, the Chuunin Exams and the Konoha Military Police Force. It's time now, as well, to make some reforms."

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"Oh, they're coming, they're coming," the red-head fidgeted as she looked around nervously form the gates of the Senju Estate.

Sakura put a calming hand on her shoulder, "Calm down, Mito, she's your daughter. There's nothing to be nervous about," there was shuffling from the forest and the two women waited, one with baited breath and the other with a carefree nonchalance.

From the forest came out a brown-haired woman who was in her late twenties, a bundle in her arms and her eyes widened when she saw them. Mito's eyes watered and she quickly made her way over to the woman and embraced her in a hug.

"Sachiko!" The woman was surprised for a moment before tears came too.

Sakura watched the scene with a soft smile, but then a rustle in the bushes nearby grabbed her attention. Raising an eyebrow at the poor show of stealth, she disappeared and reappeared behind the bush, behind the person who was hiding in it.

"I hope you're not planning to be an assassin because if that's the case then you would've already been killed," Sakura said and watched as the little girl crouching down jumped in surprise and faced her.

"Hey! That was mean!" she said as she huffed and crossed her arms.

"Darling! Come out of hiding!" Sachiko shouted. The little girl huffed and responded with a 'Fine!'

The two females came out from behind the bush and Sachiko looked up in admiration at the white-haired woman, "Sakura-sama, you haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you. It's quite amazing." Sakura thanked her and watched in amusement as the little girl looked up at her as well. "Anyways, mother, Sakura-sama… this is my son, Nawaki," she held up the bundle so they could see the sleeping baby "and…this is my daughter… Tsunade."

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Sakura couldn't stop staring at the little girl as they were around Mito's tea table overlooking the garden. From the blond hair and hazel eyes to the already showing attitude and temper, there was no doubt that this little girl was Tsunade, her once mentor.

"Sachiko-chan," Mito called out, "Where _is_ Tetsuya?"

A frown came onto her face before she turned to her daughter, "Tsunade-chan, why don't you go play with Uncle Hideki outside, I'm sure he'd love to talk to you." With that the little girl nodded and ran out of the room. The woman turned back with her head bowed, "Right now, Tetsuya is on the battlefield. Three years ago, a rival clan had started making threats because of an age old rivalry. But this time, they decided to attack and they had killed many people over the years."

"You husband's clan though wasn't going to let themselves get beaten and retaliated, causing a war between the two clans," Sakura finished.

"Yes, Tetsuya said that we should come here to be safe. So we did. But…" she fisted her kimono.

Mito and Sakura looked at the woman expectantly but she said nothing. That's when both understood and Mito cried out, "No! You are not going back there!"

Sachiko pursed her lips, "But I have to. I'm a kunoichi, too, I can help them. I can't… will not leave my husband to die!" she exclaimed. "I will go and help Tetsuya. So…" she looked up at her mother, "I ask of you… if… if ever I or Tetsuya don't come back… please take care of them."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The white-haired woman stood in front of a lake out far from the village and of her own home.

"Great spirits, I, who have helped you and your kin, ask of you for the favor you granted to me," she exclaimed.

The forest around her was suddenly eerily silent and a strong gust of wind flowed into the clearing.

"_We remember the deed you did for us. Speak and you shall be heard," _Echoed the sound of different voices mixing together.

"My children are in need of guardians. Their lives will be long and filled with danger and obstacles. And I will not always be there to watch over each of them. I ask that your children and mine come to take care of each other, just like my oldest and the Wolf Spirit's cubs."

"…_We see. The Wolf Spirit is one who puts family above all. So if he deems you worthy to have our protection, then you shall have it…" _

Sakura flinched a bit as a huge amount of chakra gathered into the clearing, almost suffocating her. A few minutes later, a straw basket appeared at her feet. Crouching down, she pulled the sheet covering it away to find three foxes sleeping soundly; two were a soft red and one was a pale orange.

"_These are for your three youngest, three of the Fox Spirit's children, those who share the blood of the Senju. And these…"_

Another surge of chakra and there came another basket. Unlike the other, this one moved, it tittered and tottered from left to right. Sakura pulled back the sheet and five pairs of eyes turned to her.

"_Fiver children of the Cat Spirit, for those who share the blood of the Uchiha."_

The white-haired woman paused, "…Five."

Hayato.

Kazue.

She willed the hurt to stay hidden within her heart but the Spirits had already felt it.

"_You have five children of the Uchiha Clan, do you not? So five guardians you will get."_

"Thank you."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Arriving back home after the day, Kaito told her all about his first day at the hospital. Her son noticed the baskets and remembered the day he got Aoi. So her, Kaito, Daisuke and Akira gathered up the kids so they could choose. Of course the Senjus were still young, but it seemed like it didn't really matter as the kits went to them on their own.

Kimihiro looked at the cat with curiosity, the most curious part of the cats were that they were all very furry with bushy fox-like tails, two of them to boot.

Sakura inspected the kits and came to the conclusion that these were not just the kits of any Cat Spirit but if her hunch was right, these were the Nibi, Matatabi's. Looking at the foxes and the way they looked at her with some knowledge led her to believe that they, too were spawns of Kurama.

She sighed, way to leave it to the gods to leave her with these kinds of guardians. But then a smile came onto her face as she lightly scratched the ear of Kimihiro's two-tailed cat, it wasn't going to be that bad.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura stood in the clearing, watching the three genin jump around in a three-way fight. Though they were spending a lot of energy, none of them seemed to give out. The white-haired woman put a hand on her chin. It was the law of Rock-Paper-Scissor… Toad-Snake-Slug. Hiruzen stood near the fight, barking out advices to each of them while she just stood under the shade of a tree.

It was starting then. The legendary Sannin were making their way towards their future glory. The question was, was she going to do something about it?

There was always that question. Every move that she made on the outside world counted and provoked something.

Should she personally train Tsunade? Should she teach Jiraya about seals? Should she make sure Orochimaru doesn't leave the village?

The first would lead to a stronger Tsunade who maybe could save her lover and not go through trauma. But that trauma had formed the Slug Princess into the Tsunade she knew so what would happen then? The second would lead to Jiraya knowing seals sooner, maybe perfect it so he could help others. But then maybe he would want to stay and never meet the Ame orphans, which played a very big part in the future concerning the Akatsuki. The last would mean that Orochimaru never would try those hideous experiments and Oto would never exist. But Oto was one of the reasons they had gotten to know more about the Edo Tensei which could either be very bad or a new development for Shinobi.

Her head started to hurt under the pressure of so many things.

"Sakura-sama? Are you alright?"

She opened her eyes that she just noticed were closed, "Yes, I'm fine." She looked towards the three who had stopped fighting and were now laying down on the ground. She went over to them, first to Tsunade and started healing her injuries.

The eight year old looked up at her, "My mother calls you Sakura-sama and even the Hokage does. Though you don't seem that old, I don't get why you're so respected," she said.

"Tsunade! That's no way to treat an elder," Hiruzen admonished. The said girl turned to her teacher and stuck out her tongue.

Sakura wanted to laugh, "Believe it or not, I'm five years older than your grandmother is."

"Liar!" Tsunade and Jiraya exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at her while Orochimaru just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

At the display, Sakura couldn't help but laugh out loud.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

She decided to leave the little group a while after as she contemplated on the things to do about the three. Sighing at the infinite amount of consequences that could happen, she decided that for the rest of her sanity, she would leave it be for now. When she was close to where the training fields were, she slowed down.

With a sad gaze, she stepped onto the training ground which would be Team 7's. Before she could allow her emotions to get ahold of her, voices were heard and she quickly jumped into the trees, preparing to dash towards the Hokage Tower when she heard a familiar voice. Turning back, she saw the blond hair and heard the unmistakable voice of her son.

"Mou, stop it Ryuuzaki!"

"Didn't I tell you to call me Ryuu?" the older man said as he pulled Haruki close. "Then I can call you Haru-chan."

"In your dreams," the blond said and ripped himself from the man's hold.

Sakura's eyebrow rose up at this; she had never seen nor heard about this Ryuuzaki before.

"Oh, come on, Haru-chan," he cooed as he took the blond into his arms and brought his face very close. Haruki's face brightened and before he could do anything, Ryuu had already pecked his cheek.

Oh… that's why she's never heard of him.

"Ryuu!" Haruki punched the man back and went off.

With slightly wide eyes she left the scene. So her son bent that way. A giggle tore through her lips and an amused smile came onto her face. She didn't really care as long as he was happy, and boy, was he ever out of character.

Not even bothering to knock, she entered the office where she knew Hiruzen was already.

"Kaa-chan!" Akira shouted as he bounded up and hugged her.

The white-haired woman put a hand on his head, "You left early today, you didn't even eat breakfast," her melodious voice said.

Akira gave an apologetic look, "I couldn't sleep and I just couldn't stay in bed! Next time, I promise!"

A smile broke out of the woman's face, "It's alright, but just warn me. You know I don't like it when you go without saying anything. Even if I know when and where you're going, I'd just like a heads up, alright?" He nodded vigorously, looking like a little puppy. "Good, now, since you're finished, could you pick up your brothers and bring them home from the Uchiha residence? And if you have time, stop by Mito's place and bring them home as well."

"Will do!" he shouted as he left.

Hiruzen turned to her, "So Sakura-sama, what do you think of those three?"

Sakura smiled, "I think they have much potential."

The Hokage nodded, "I believe Orochimaru has this something… I can't explain it."

The woman was reminded of how Kakashi had always favored Sasuke. I guess the Sannin and Team 7 really did have lot in common… a lot more than she would like to admit.

"Oh?"

"Yes, but right now, I think he's a little lost." He gave a sigh, "Either he's going to be one of greatest Shinobi Konoha has ever seen of his generation…"

"Or he'll become one that Konoha will fear," she supplied for him.

"…Yes."

Their conversation came to a premature end when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Hiruzen called out. The door opened slowly and Sakura frowned as the man made his way inside. "Ah, Danzou, what brings you here?"

He nodded his head at them but nothing more in his way of seemingly showing 'respect'. "I want to speak to you privately," his eyes shifted to Sakura, clearly meaning that she wasn't welcome in the conversation.

Hiruzen frowned at this, "What you have to say to me, you can say in front of Sakura-sama. After all, she has been at both the Shodaime and Nidaime's side during their reign."

"Yes, and they both died prematurely," he spat out.

Sakura's eyes shone dangerously and Hiruzen's frown deepened, "I'm going to have to ask you to show more respect, Danzou."

The man narrowed his eyes, knowing that he was treading on ice right now, "That doesn't make it any less true," he finished.

Hiruzen slapped his hands on the desk as he stood up from his chair, "If you're only here to disgrace the Hokage's name by not showing respect to Sakura-sama, then-

He stopped when Sakura's hand stopped him, "It's alright, Hiruzen. It's time that I leave anyways; my children are waiting for me."

"Sakura-sama-

"Goodnight… Hiruzen. I'll come by again soon." With that, she brushed past Danzou without a single word.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

She sped through the village, trying to let all her anger out. That man was never going to change, even in parallel worlds.

Arriving home, she stopped as a sinking feeling made its way into her and her heart sped up. Something wasn't right.

As soon as she saw Kaito kneeling down, clutching at his arm on the ground in front him a magic circle with silent tears running down his face, she knew.

Something was terribly wrong.

* * *

**So there, not much of a plot development but I try to incorporate the outside world. Though I know that people would much rather read things about the canon people and how the overall time changing thing, this is my way of writing and I apologize if it doesn't suit some tastes.  
**

**But I promise you, the story will eventually get there, I've already got the ideas and not to toot my own horn but... it's gonna be pretty epic (at least I hope so).**


	15. Chapter 14

**Thank you for your support and for putting up with me until now. I do hope that my OCs aren't boring you to death. I know some people have problems with OCs and the like, especially so many ones.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or xxxHolic. **

**Please enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 14:

Sakura took a deep breath, her eyes closed and her body still. She stayed in that state for an undetermined amount of time. It wasn't until she felt the wind on her face did she open her eyes.

Noise. Lots of noise.

Looking around, her eyes widened as she took in the houses, the tall buildings in the background and the carefree people walking on the sidewalk. She watched as metal contraptions, that she had remembered were 'cars' run along the road and teenage girls laughing in their identical uniforms and looking at her with curious gazes as they passed by.

She then turned to the place she landed at after she had tried numerous dimensions to try and find her son. The red gates opened at her presence and she saw a traditional Japanese house, very regal and elegant. She shuddered as she felt ominous presences inside the house, but her instincts told her that it was safe. But still, she hesitated.

"Ah!"

Sakura turned her head to where a teenage girl had stopped. The girl had long curly black hair and a part of it was tied to either side of her head, she had a pale complexion and an air of innocence. The white-haired woman though, noticed immediately that a strange aura surrounded the girl, something alike misfortune.

"Good morning! Are you here to see Yuuko-san?" the girl asked.

"Yuuko?"

The girl nodded and turned to the house, "If you see this house… then that means you have a wish to be fulfilled, right? Yuuko-san helps with that." The girl smiled and tilted her head, "Come on in, I'm sure they won't mind since it's a customer, I'm here to visit a friend of mine."

With that, Sakura was ushered inside the eerie gates. The front yard was nothing less than perfect with trimmed grass and flowers growing along the brick walls closing it off from the world. As she got closer, the door slid open and two little girls came running out. One had long blue hair in two side pigtails akin to clouds with eyes the same color, the other had short pink hair and pink eyes, both were wearing a puffy white dress with red linings.

"Himawari-chan! Himawari-chan!" they shouted as they each took one of the young woman's hands.

"Ah, Maru-chan, Moro-chan! Can you tell me where Watanuki-kun is at? And you have a customer."

"He's preparing lunch! He's preparing lunch!" they shouted in unison.

"Alright," Himawari ruffled their extravagant hair and bowed to Sakura before heading off inside, "I'll leave you in their care miss."

Sakura raised a hand and brushed it against the cold cheek of the one with pink hair and shivered. The twins looked back at the white-haired woman with soulless eyes.

"You poor things have no souls; the only thing keeping you alive is probably the strong amount of magic surrounding this place," Sakura said, putting her hand down.

"Correct," the white-haired woman looked up at the entrance where a woman in her early twenties was. Her long black hair trailed down to the back of her knees and her red eyes glowed against her very pale skin, the black and red qipao making a stark contrast. But it was this woman's enigmatic smile that made Sakura take caution in approaching her.

The woman gracefully stepped aside, "Please, come in."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Sakura sat ramrod straight in the room, contrary to Yuuko who was sitting back, fully relaxed. Sakura could easily tell that this woman did way more than her age, by the aura she felt around the woman, she would say that she was well past a century old.

"My, such a serious face for someone so young," she smiled, "where are my manners? I'm Ichihara Yuuko, the owner of this shop."

The kunoichi closed her eyes and a wry smile appeared on her face, "I would also give you a false name but I believe that it wouldn't matter much. My name is Haruno Sakura."

Yuuko's smile widened into a smirk, "You're not from around here, are you?" it was a rhetorical question. She turned to the doorway as it opened, "Took you long enough Watanuki-kun! We have a guest, too!"

Sakura watched as a young man stumbled into the room, the tray in his hands precariously wobbling. He glared at her and stabilized the tray as he kneeled down and set the tea. The boy had short black hair and was wearing a white apron over his all black school uniform; it even came with a white bandana tied around his head to keep his hair away from his face.

But the thing about him that caught her attention the most was his mismatched eyes behind his glasses. One was a clear blue and the other was gold. An odd combination, even for heterochromatic eyes.

Sakura watched the curious scene as the young man poured sake in her cup then Yuuko's, who grinned like a Cheshire cat at the alcohol. She had whined when Watanuki had effectively pulled the sake bottle away from her greedy grasp. Yuuko huffed and shooed him away.

With that, the two women were shrouded in silence once more as both released in the relief the sweet alcohol brought.

"That is the expression of someone who loves sake, I know from experience," the black-haired woman said and reached behind her. She pulled out a kiseru, "you don't mind do you?"

Sakura smiled, "Looks like we have more in common than one would think."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"Ah, so you are not of this world. I'm surprised," the woman blew out the smoke from her kiseru and turned to the white-haired woman who was also smoking her own, "Not many of us are able to flit to other dimensions so easily."

"Of us?"

Yuuko smiled, "You really didn't think that I wouldn't notice, did you? You immediately could tell that my two girls were without souls, and don't think I can't see you looking at the spirits wandering about this garden. How did you get the power?"

The kunoichi sipped her sake and turned her eyes to the translucent birds flying up above the garden they were in, "I was saved from death… in exchange I was said to occupy this job. Helping lost souls from my world find their way…"

The witch smiled wryly, "It's a depressing job sometimes, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes it is…"

"Now, on to business," Yuuko took a drag of her kiseru, "you were able to come here for a reason." She smirked, "Even we have our own wishes and desires… so tell me yours…"

"My son has disappeared, about a month ago," Sakura said, putting her sake cup down, "I believe he's lost somewhere in one of the dimensions."

"Ah, I see… does your son also have your powers?"

"Yes, he does…" she smiled, "It's something he's very proud of. It's what differentiates him from his brothers."

"Oh, you have more children?"

Sakura laughed, "I have thirteen."

Yuuko's eyes widened, "Whoa! Thirteen kids! That must be a handful! How old is the oldest and the youngest?"

"They range from twenty to one years old, and at first, yes, it's very tiring… but I love them all." she replied.

"Wow…" the black-haired woman smiled, "Well, then, I may be able to help you. After all, we have to help each other out… in this métier."

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

The two women walked through the hallways briskly, Yuuko suddenly stopped in front of a pair of shouji doors and slid them open with force.

"Watanuki! We're going out, keep the shop," were her orders.

Inside, Watanuki, who was conversing with his friends glared at her, "You could at least ask me nicely…" he sighed in resignation, "Fine!" Then he returned to the girl with a smile, "Himawari-chan, would you like some more?"

"With pleasure!"

Sakura caught the eyes of the third boy inside the room. His golden eyes were almost familiar to her. Looking back at Watanuki once more, she realized why. The eye that Watanuki had was the same as the boy's eyes. It was him who broke the contact first as he just watched the exchange between his friends.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

"What are those kids doing there?" Sakura asked as she strolled down the streets with the Time Witch.

"Watanuki has a debt he has to repay towards me. His friends are there to support him," Yuuko replied. She turned and smiled, "Here we are."

They had stopped in front of a giant tree in the middle of a park. The area around the park though was deserted and there were no other flora around at maybe a kilometer radius. Sakura took the in what she recognized as being a willow tree, its long thin branches and leaves touching the ground and hiding what might lie beyond that barrier.

"Do you know the meaning of the willow, Sakura-san?"

"I don't believe I do."

"Well it's a symbol of magic, healing, inner vision and dreams… this one is special though," Yuuko smiled and ran her fingers along its leaves, "This tree is famous around these parts. They say… that you may find loved ones here… if ever they disappear," she said, never taking her eyes off the tree, "A lot of mothers who have lost their children come here, wishing and hoping for their child to come back. Some do," she paused, "But only… if they are still of this world." She turned to Sakura, "A many women have come and asked but most of them just break into tears and mourning. I guess… that's why they call it the 'weeping willow', because it understands. It understands the pain."

Sakura closed her eyes and stepped forward as the leaves spread apart like curtains to make way for her.

She wasn't leaving without her son.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Kaito paced nervously on the front lawn; he looked up and glanced around every few dozen paces. He bit his lip and ran his fingers down his arm where faint scars were. It was where their brother had engraved the last thing he saw, which was, apparently, an address to some other world. Their mother said that it would fade away soon enough since his body is reacting well to it.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned back to look at his almost twin who looked at him in concern.

"Come and eat… dinner's ready," Haruki said, letting his hand fall back to his side. The blue-haired medic nodded and followed. They came to the dining room where the Uchiha brothers were finishing off setting the table and Akira was bringing in the platters and plates of food. Kaito went over to the futon that was placed on the floor in the corner where his youngest brothers were playing. He picked up Hikaru and smiled at the twins, turning back to call for help, he was surprised when Haruki was already there.

"I got it," he smiled and picked up both kids, the two then made their way to the dinner table. "'Hiro-kun, go and get Ashi-nii, he should be in his room," he said to the oldest Uchiha, who nodded and left to get the eldest.

The nine year old padded down the corridors until he came to his brother's room. He shifted around for a bit, staring at the door.

"Come on in, Kimihiro," the light baritone voice from inside beckoned him to enter as he jumped in surprise at the suddenness of it. He reached up, taking a glance at the seal on the door and waiting for it to be inactive before sliding the doors open slowly. He took a step in and zeroed in on his brother who was at the low table, sitting Indian style and looking over some scrolls and papers, looking much like their mother did.

The red-head smiled kindly at the boy, "You needed?"

"'Kira-nii's finished with dinner so Haru-nii told me to get you," he said in his small voice.

"I see, I'll be right there then," he replied and looked back at his work. Kimihiro knew that it was then that he should've left but he instead looked around the room. It was pretty basic, shelves filled with books on the western and northern wall, not as many as Dai-nii's or their mother's room but still a fair amount. He had opted for a bed instead of a futon which was on the eastern wall from the door. He had a desk on the corner of the last wall which was, ironically, the only thing in the room that was tidy.

"Kimihiro?"

The said boy looked up at the call of his name. He was met with concerned amber eyes, "Are you okay?"

He nodded slowly. Ashido didn't look convinced as he put his brush down and beckoned him over. Kimihiro trudged over and sat on his brother's offered lap.

"What's wrong? Are you worried about Daisuke and Kaa-chan?" he asked, it was, of course, the only thing going around in all their heads since the incident.

"I'm… not that worried… I know that… Kaa-chan will find Dai-nii… and they'll definitely come back. But…"

Ashido smiled as he understood, "Of course they'll come back and we'll all have a party afterwards. You don't have to worry about it so much, so young and already so stressed! It's okay to have doubts, you know, it just shows you care sometimes. Now come along, the food's gonna get cold." He stood up, taking Kimihiro in his arms and on his back, the child giggled and held onto his neck.

HitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHi tsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzenHitsuzen

Kaito tucked the kids in after dinner while Haruki cleaned up the table. Akira did a round of every corner of the house to make sure the seals were properly in place before activating them. Ashido was on the front lawn with their wolves, making sure they were ready for yet another night of patrols on their territory.

The blue-haired medic closed the doors to the nursery and only glanced at the numerous seals around the entrance when it shone then faded to nothing, signaling its activation. Passing onto the next room, he peeked inside to see the Uchiha twins sprawled over the large futon with Kimihiro in between them. Satisfied that the young ones were resting, he made his way towards the living room. The lights were still on in there and as he entered, he was the last one to arrive.

The four brothers nodded to each other before moving the table. Under it, carefully hidden by the marble table their mother had bought was a giant seal. They each circled around it and poured chakra into its ink. The reaction was immediate as the seal shone, recognizing their signatures. Behind them, the wall on which was painted the symbol for their family, a pearl-white dragon in the form of the Haruno circle with its nose touching the tip of his tail, shone. The 2D image bristled and the dragon's head turned to them, its jade eyes regarding them carefully. It slowly uncoiled from its circle form and instead formed a sideways eight so that its nose was touching the middle of its body: the symbol of infinity and immortality.

Inside the first 'o' were six kanji; one white in the middle and five black encircled it, making a star outline. Around those five were five others, their color green making a clashing star encasing the black star and finally beyond them, encasing everything were three green kanji, forming a triangle.

It represented all of them, those of this world.

They each took turns inserting chakra into their respective kanji sign and waited. Their mother had made this especially for them; she was able to make a hidden dimension beyond the wall that could only be opened by either blood or chakra. The seal was so intricate that Akira almost fainted from the confusion and the expertise of it.

The circle then shone a light green, it was big enough to at least fit two of them at a time so going through it was no problem. The other circle was their mother's private dimension since it only had the kanji for 'memory' on it. And, evidently, only she was allowed –and capable- to go in there.

Each passing through the portal of sorts, the table was replaced over the seal and the portal closed itself. Of course, the security checkpoints didn't stop there; through the portal were three more passes. It was built entirely for their special family so of course, the first checkpoint was to see if they could use, what they deemed, to be their kekkei genkai. In the cave-like room were stone bowls filled with petrol, some with water and others were empty.

Ashido, from his position in the middle of the room accurately sent an ember over to one of the bowls of petrol. The chemical reaction was immediate as a blazing fire came to life. With that signal, each gathered their element. Kaito pulled the water from the bowls, Haruki cut out a piece of the earth under him, Akira gathered a ball of air in between his hands and Ashido carefully handled the flame alight on his hand.

With a perfect synch, they each propelled their element over to the lustrous moss green wall in front of them. The elements seemed to be absorbed by it without any hindrance or chip. It took only a few moments before it wavered as if made of water. They again, went through it without worry.

The second checkpoint included scrolls plastered on a wall in another cave-like room, ink and brushes. This was probably the easiest checkpoint for them for you only needed to write down the password they each had and a common password to open the next portal.

The third checkpoint was a little uncomfortable but their mother had insisted they put it in there. Even though they had argued that it was quite impossible to even get this far unless you were one of them. Even if enemies had discovered the portal in the dragon, they would have to know exactly what to do at each checkpoint and if ever they were wrong, the few, but very deadly traps set for them would go off and dispose of them.

Better be safe than sorry.

Was what their mother always said, and it was this phrase that actually was their common password.

Much like the previous cave-rooms, it was practically empty save for the golden bowl sitting on what seemed to be a small tree trunk. It reached their waist and the branches curled around the gold bowl, holding it in place. The bowl itself was shiny and empty.

Ashido took out a kunai, wanting this to be over as soon as he could. With a swift movement, he had cut open his palm and let the blood flow into the bowl, as soon as it was set at the bottom, it slowly began to shrink in amount as if it was draining, even though there was no hole at the bottom.

Kaito immediately went over and healed the cut, already knowing that he was going to be the last to make sure his brothers got proper treatment unlike last time when Akira had bandaged it sloppily, almost causing it to get infected. Ashido thanked him and went through the portal, not needing to wait for his brothers.

After all were finally through, instead of being relieved, the tension became thicker. The room they were in was in another dimension, all of the checkpoints also belonging to different worlds. The main themes were gold and white with the walls being white while all the borders were lined with a thick golden wood, the floor was draped in a soft, almost velvet light gold and white carpet. One side wall was lined with open scrolls pasted almost clumsily on it. The one opposite the 'door' had a large whiteboard, on it were already scribbled the topic of discussion they had with their mother before the incident. The last wall was a floor to ceiling shelf with scrolls neatly separated into square compartments, each square containing a few scrolls each that were named, numbered and categorized.

They were currently all sitting around a large low table. It had, engraved into it, their family symbol. The table was really the focal point of the room since it took up most of the space. Of course, each of them already had their respective places. Their mother was supposed to be at the head of the table with Ashido to her right and Daisuke was supposed to be to her left. On Ashido's side there was Kaito and opposite him was Haruki while Akira was next to the latter. Soon enough, Kimihiro would be facing him though, hopefully in the very near future.

Kaito looked to his oldest brother and nudged him, shifting his eyes to their mother's seat. The red-head glanced at the seat before shaking his head slightly. His mother may have said that in her absence, he would be the head of the family; that meant he was responsible for his brothers, the house…and their projects… But that did not necessarily mean he was to take her place, both figuratively and literally. He was content where he was and knew that they all liked to think and imagine that their mother was there in that seat watching over them silently.

"As Kaa-san wanted," Ashido started, "we will be looking after the plans for the future. She had told us to continue her work with the help of the data her memories bring us," he gestured to the scrolls on the shelves, "if ever she takes more than two weeks. Two weeks have passed and now we must start where we left off." He glanced at the white board behind Haruki then to the table. Pushing his chakra into it, they all had a copy of the board in a smaller form in front of each of them. "Haruki, recall."

The blond cleared his throat, "We are currently in the years where Sarutobi Hiruzen has gained the title of Hokage and train the future Sannin who are Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru. There is already talk of another upcoming war since the tension between the villages still hasn't been quelled. Although it will still take a few years until then, since they are still recuperating from the casualties and overall destruction of the First War."

"What makes those people important, Akira?" Ashido questioned his young brother.

"Tsunade, the Slug Princess, will become Godaime Hokage and sensei of Shizune and Haruno Sakura. Jiraiya, the Toad Sannin, will become Uzumaki Naruto's sensei. Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin, will betray Konoha and become leader of Oto with his apprentice, Kabuto and Uchiha Sasuke's sensei. They all played a very important part in the 4th Great Shinobi War and all have perished in it or before it," he recited.

Ashido nodded in approval. It was always how their mother started a meeting, with testing out their knowledge of the future. Since they were not even born or too young to understand, they had to learn all this from their mother telling them and by reading the scrolls she had made retelling of the relevant things she had experienced in her Shinobi life that they must know to make sure that, if ever something happens and that she is unavailable, they would be able to continue on without her.

After all, knowledge was everything.

Their careful planning of everything paid off in the end for there really was such an incident where they were without her. But not for too long, they hoped.

"On what events are we supposed to intervene in right now, Kaito," he continued his interrogation.

"We may only intervene in prospect of a different path for each Sannin. Kaa-san has decided that I will take care of Tsunade's medic training which I may begin while she is out. After that, Kaa-san may take her on and train her bit, but not anything too relevant yet, about the Yin seal. As for Jiraiya, it's a good idea if he meets Akira and gets him interested at an earlier age with seals and such, but not too much. As for Orochimaru… we're still at an impasse."

"And the opinions, Haruki." Ashido asked.

The said boy grunted, recalling the results of the debate two weeks ago, just before their mother left, "Daisuke and I opted for leaving him alone for now. We were pretty sure that Kaa-san could somehow influence Sarutobi into influencing Orochimaru in a less destructive way. Kaito and Akira though are for influencing directly and not wait until he's had the time to mull over things like world-domination and immortality. Ashido and Kaa-san hadn't expressed their opinions on the matter yet. And… since Kaa-san isn't here, the deciding vote will be yours, Ashido."

The red-head gave a somewhat tired sigh, "Alright, since those two are almost set, we'll leave it off for tomorrow to plan it in detail. For now, we concentrate on Orochimaru's case. Akira, get the scrolls pertaining his information, please."

The blond nodded and stood up; he went over to the shelves and skimmed over the headings. They were so well organized that they were even color-coded. On the side was a list of all the subjects which were color coded. The compartments were painted a unique color for each so it pretty easy finding the purple area marking everything that had in relation with the snake-sannin. The purple color extended to four squares, each having at least two scrolls. The sub-categories were 'Experiments', 'Legacy', 'General Information', and 'Kabuto's Works'. The one that was most filled was of course the 'Experiments', almost filling up the whole 15x15cm area; the 'Legacy' only had two scrolls in it and the last two had two and four scrolls respectively. The junior took the scrolls from 'General Information' as well as 'Legacy'.

Bringing them over to the table, he passed the scrolls around so everyone got one, each opened and started to read over the information gathered and set in their mother's neat and prim penmanship. It wasn't very detailed, since their mother had said that most of the information was what she remembered from Konoha's archives when she was still a genin and an apprentice to Tsunade.

After reading, rotating scrolls and processing the information, they all looked at each other for a few moments.

"Suggestions?" Ashido asked, crossing his arms and leaning into the floor chair.

Silence.

The blue-haired young man opened his mouth, only to close it again. He did this a few more times before finally speaking, "Even after reading all… this…I still don't understand him."

His almost twin snorted, "That's a good thing, isn't it? Do you really want to know what a sick freak this guy was?" He gestured to the scrolls gathered in the middle of the table, "He used humans as guinea pigs, practiced forbidden jutsus and was overall an insane man!" He cried out.

Kaito pursed his lips, "Everyone has their flaws, Haruki," he said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah, well, he's practically made of flaws. Who the hell thinks of these things?" he flipped the scrolls near him, "It's inhumane and downright disgusting."

"You shouldn't judge people you don't know," the younger of the two argued, "He deserves another chance and help. Kaa-san did say that we shouldn't take into account the past."

"Yeah? Who's gonna help this guy?"

"I am!"

By now the two were standing and facing each other.

"Nii-san!" Akira tugged on his brother, trying to calm him down.

"That's enough, you two," Ashido stated.

Haruki backtracked and narrowed his eyes, "You've been fraternizing with him already? You've already made contact?"

The other stayed silent.

"Are you stupid?" Haruki asked, completely ignoring his two other brothers. "You always were a goody two shoes. This man is dangerous and you want to fuel his knowledge even further? What if he gets worse, huh? What if he becomes even worse than in the past? Let's face it, some people will not change, look at Madara, even after Kaa-san had given him so many things, he still went and betrayed her and his family. So what about Orochimaru, who has no ties whatsoever with us? Do you really think he's gonna feel bad if ever he decided to go against us? Could you really live with the conscience that you helped create a monster, Kaito?"

"Haruki!" Ashido slammed his hands on the table; he glared at his brother, "That's _enough_." He looked around the table where Kaito was looking down at his hands and Akira was glancing at them nervously, obviously having never assisted to an argument this serious between them. The eldest sighed, "We're all on our nerves' end these days without Kaa-chan… I know…" he shook his head, "We'll stop here for tonight. Go and get some sleep and no more talking," he pointedly glared at the older blond who looked away in frustration.

The red-head watched as Haruki stormed off, not glancing back. Akira stood up and glanced concerned at Kaito who still had his head down. He turned to his older brother who smiled reassuringly at him, which relieved him of some tension.

"Goodnight, Kai-nii," he stepped over and hugged his brother. Sure, he was seventeen already and not the youngest anymore, but he couldn't help but fill the childish role within the five. He knew that they needed it, to remind them that they, too, were young, they were still kids who were learning the harsh realities of life.

Kaito's eyes widened a little at the contact but then a small smile graced his feminine face and returned the hug, "Goodnight, 'Kira."

The blond smiled when he got a response, going over to bid his older brother a goodnight as well. Ashido accepted the hug and ruffled his hair before letting him go, leaving the two odd-colored haired brothers in the room.

The red-head made his way over to the other and put a hand on top of his head, "You know he didn't mean it, Kai. You know how he gets carried away sometimes, he'll probably feel guilty in the morning, he's probably feeling guilty already and pouting in his room." He then frowned, "But you should have told us that you had already met and made contact with Orochimaru. Does Kaa-san know about this?"

The younger nodded, "Of course she knows… we met by simple coincidence at the hospital and we just started talking."

_The medic walked through the empty hallways; it was quiet, as it should be at night. He never liked doing night shifts, since he would prefer heading home to his family. But today was special since the medic who was supposed to be on duty had been reassigned on short notice and the staff was already under populated so he volunteered. Probably for the last time, too._

_Ignoring the blatant flirty stares from the female receptionist, he was about to go and make another round when he heard the main doors open. Raising an eyebrow, he checked the list for any upcoming teams arriving this late at night but found none._

_To say he was more than surprised to see the little boy, eight years of age, his long hair was flowing down his back and his yellow eyes almost shining in the semi-darkness. Kaito raised an eyebrow as to why he was at the hospital at this hour. He approached the said boy who was looking around, seemingly looking for something._

"_Can I help you?" _

_The young boy looked up and silently watched seeming to analyze him for a minute before answering, "I'm in need of medical assistance."_

_Kaito nodded and kneeled down to his level, "What's wrong?" The little boy gave a curt nod and gestured to the wounds that littered his body, not really visible in the dim lighting. The medic nodded, "Let's go to an examination room and we'll just heal those right up. This way."_

_He passed by the receptionist to take some forms before heading towards the nearest exam room, the boy right behind him. Turning on the light, he gestured Orochimaru to sit on the exam table, which he did. _

"_Do you have a guardian?"_

"…_Kind of," he replied, his eyes glancing around the room in mild interest._

"_Kind of? Do they know you're here?"_

"_Probably. He has people following me all the time."_

_Kaito paused in filling out the form, his body tensing as he effectively felt two chakras right outside the room. _

"_I see…sorry, I didn't get your name," Kaito turned to the boy who tilted his head a bit before answering._

"_Orochimaru, eight years old… I'm not a Konoha citizen but I have official papers signed by the Hokage for an extended stay," he said._

_The medic raised an eyebrow as he filled out the patient sheet at the sudden burst of information. All information that was required to fill the form out. Not thinking about it any further, he turned and smiled._

"_Alright then, let's check out those wounds of yours, alright?" he went over and told him to lie down. He now could easily discern the gashes on his legs and arms as well as a long but shallow cut across his stomach that was bandaged up. He started with the latter. "So, how did you come by these wounds and why were you out this late, Orochimaru-kun?"_

"_I got attacked on my way back to the village. I was…visiting someone," the latter was a blatant lie but Kaito made no show of it bothering him. His eyes instead wanted to pierce the walls to glare at the ANBU still standing guard. _

_Why didn't they interfere?_

"_You said people were looking out for you, why didn't they help?" he decided to ask directly._

_Orochimaru's eyes shifted this way and that, "They're watching me… they're not watching _over_ me nor _looking out_ for me. They just… make sure no one really manages to take me or kill me."_

_The eighteen-year old's eyes narrowed and one word rang loud and clear in his head: 'ROOT'. His mother had told him some things about it since they had learned about Danzou and the one thing that made him cringe at the name: the Anbu called Root he directed. _

_An army of children who've been brainwashed and made into human weapons. _

_He knew that Konoha Anbu would never leave a kid, Konoha citizen or not, get hurt by a potential danger. Especially one who had the attention of the Hokage. That only meant that Danzou was controlling the so-called guards and was just making sure to keep tabs on the new potential. _

He looked up earnestly at his brother, "He's just a lonely child, Ashi-nii. He…" he looked down, "He reminds me of myself." He wrapped his arms around himself, "When I see Orochimaru-kun… I see the small, lost and scared little boy who had lost everything. But him, he's not going to meet anyone like Kaa-chan in his life and will die alone, just as the scroll so plainly says." He was near tears now as he rubbed furiously at his eyes, always emotional.

Ashido went over to him, "It's alright. Kaa-chan trusted you with this. That means you can't let her down. I'll let you decide from now on what should be done with Orochimaru until Kaa-chan comes back. Just… be careful alright?" He wasn't that worried about his brother, but the potential danger he could be in by frequenting the boy was high. "Let's go to sleep, we all need it."

They both looked up alarmed when they felt Haruki's chakra leave the perimeter.

Kaito looked alarmed, "Where is he going? At this time of night?" he asked. "I should go apologize."

The red-head stopped him, "No, it's alright. He's probably just gonna go to the village. Anyways, you're not the one at fault here, you have no reason to apologize. He'll come back when he's calmed down a bit."

The blue-haired medic nodded hesitantly.

With that, the two young men left their secret base.

* * *

**I love all my characters and I hope you do, too.**

Sakura - 39  
Ashido - 20  
Daisuke - 19  
Haruki/Kaito - 18  
Akira - 17  
Kimihiro - 9  
Hayato - 5  
Kohaku/Kousuke - 4  
Kazue - 3  
Arashi/Shun - 1  
Hikaru - 0


End file.
